British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) CEO Graeme Trudgill outlines his vision of cooperation and allyship to drive positive change across the industry in his BIBA Conference opening speech. The conference, which is known as the largest insurance broking event in the UK, is taking place in Manchester from 14-15 May. In his speech, Trudgill also calls for a period of regulatory stability and for the industry to help close the protection gap through innovation. He emphasises that "only a small portion of the economic risk faced by individuals and businesses is insured", and "as nothing moves without insurance, it is vital to close this protection gap". The CEO calls on the industry to “innovate, to cover new risks, and not to exclude them” and “work together” to better protect clients. He highlights the successes already achieved through this approach with various initiatives across the UK insurance industry. In particular, he mentions the launch of the Fire Safety Reinsurance Facility by the Association of British Insurers and McGill & Partners, the plan to reduce the scope of the consumer duty of the Lloyd's Market Association and the London & International Insurance Brokers Association, and the Broker Assess training tool launched by the Chartered Insurance Institute. However, he expresses that "it is not right" that small brokers are having to sell up due to the influx of new and demanding regulations, remarking that "the consumer duty is an overarching piece of regulation". Highlighting the BIBA Conference theme of ‘What’s next?’, Trudgill emphasises the launch of the Oxera Fair Value Assessment Framework, new roles in BIBA’s public affairs and regulation teams, broader engagement at political party conferences and with other stakeholders, and new guides and career initiatives. He also outlines how technology and AI are going to provide critical support for the sector and announces that BIBA will be producing new guidance on this, to help members maximise the opportunities. Concluding his speech, Trudgill says: “I’m very positive about our future, and when we ask, What’s next? We will look to identify the opportunities”.
