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Accessing Insurance

Home / Current Issues / Accessing Insurance

The primary aim of a BIBA broker is to help consumers and businesses access suitable insurance protection.

BIBA has established successful working relationships with various organisations including the Money Advice Service and the Association of British Insurers (ABI) as well as with Government. This enables more people to access the important financial protection that they need for their homes, holidays, businesses and cars both when buying insurance and at renewal.  BIBA and its members will also help customers to avoid the risk of underinsurance or no insurance.

In 2016 our not-for-profit Find-A-Broker service helped deal with more than a quarter of a million general insurance enquiries that we directed to suitable BIBA brokers.

The voluntary agreement on age and insurance BIBA has with Government and the ABI has signposted more than 200,000 older motorists and holidaymakers to our Find-A-Broker to help them access the insurance they need.

Insurance brokers can provide advice and access a wide range of insurance providers to help find solutions for all types of insurance needs, including the most difficult of risks.

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BIBA's Calls for Action and Commitments on Enabling Access to the right insurance

Each year BIBA campaigns on a number of issues and commits to a series of actions - these calls for action and commitments can be found within our manifesto.

Find more information in the BIBA 2017 Manifesto

An Effective System of Public Financial Guidance

For Government to work with BIBA and encompass the Find-A-Broker service into the new money guidance
body to ensure that as many people as possible can access suitable general insurance products and receive advice
when necessary. This would help the new money guidance body meet its objective to identify and fill
gaps in the market using targeted advice services delivered by third parties.

Getting Business Interruption Insurance (BI) Right

To promote our under-insurance guide for SMEs and increase awareness of the complexities and benefits of declaration linked business interruption insurance.

Vulnerable Customers

BIBA will raise awareness of the Code and embed it into the insurance broking sector.

In January 2016 The Associationof British Insurers (ABI) and BIBAlaunched a joint voluntary Code of Good Practice to help insurers and insurance brokers recogniseand help potentially vulnerable customers, who may need extra support when renewing motor and home insurance policies.
There are a range of factors that may lead to vulnerability in financial services, including a physical disability, severe or long-term illness, mental health issues and people with low literacy, numeracy or financial capability skills.

Under the Code participating insurers and brokers will, among other things:
• Ensure staff are adequately trained to recognise and understand potentially vulnerable customers and be able to offer flexible options.
• Periodically review legacy policies to, where possible, ensure vulnerable customers are aware of alternative products.
• Consider whether additional communication is needed to help vulnerable customers through the renewal process.

Enabling Consumers to Understand their Insurance

For the FCA to review all current product disclosure requirements, including those of the CMA, with their behavioural economics team and recognised customer organisations in order to enhance customer understanding and to give guidance
on effective disclosures around policy cover to provide clarity to consumers and satisfy the Ombudsman.

For the FCA, HM Treasury and BIBA to work together on the implementation of the product information document required by the incoming Insurance Distribution Directive, supporting calls for EIOPA21 approve a design that has the right outcome for customers.

Sharing economy

BIBA is working closely with representatives from the sharing economy/collaborative economy.

We have produced guidance for both members and participants in the sharing economy and are working with members to design and create new and innovative products and solutions that are insuring the use, as opposed to the ownership of the item.

We have prepared a list of brokers currently covering sharing economy issues

As predicted in our first guide to the Sharing Economy, published in 2014, this sector has grown exponentially. Gross revenue in the EU from collaborative Platforms and providers was estimated to be €28bn in 20151 and estimated to be worth $335bn globally by 20252 – so it seems timely to look at this topic again. – View our Broker guide to Insuring the Sharing Economy.

View our sharing economy guide

Sharing Economy Press Releases

"BIBA welcomed the Government’s support for the Sharing Economy and is encouraged that the Chancellor has announced a package of measures to help grow the Sharing Economy.  It is a rapidly growing sector that BIBA and its members have been actively working on with Downing Street, BIS and the sector itself."

Armed Forces

In response to a need to help members of the Armed Forces access suitable insurance protection, BIBA has identified members that can commit to providing more flexibility in the insurance arrangements for service personnel and their families.

 

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Armed-Forces-BIBA-members-who-are-able-to-assist-May20171

Read our press release on how BIBA members are responding to the needs of our Armed Forces.

How to avoid under-insurance for small businesses

BIBA has launched a guide to help small businesses avoid under-insurance.

The guide was published at time when businesses are potentially more vulnerable to the risks of under-insurance as a result of uncertainty in the run up to Brexit leading to a fall in the value of the pound. This currency fluctuation may make it more expensive to import goods such as replacement equipment, plant or machinery.

 Download our guide here underinsuranceweb

Accessing Insurance News

Broker Magazine Articles

News Articles

Small Business Insurance for Dummies

The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) has produced the new ‘Small Business Insurance for Dummies’ guide. It is an introductory guide for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on securing suitable general insurance to protect their businesses and will be distributed through BIBA members.

View our dummies guide online here

Graeme Trudgill, BIBA’s Executive Director, co-authored the guide which aims to be a helpful tool for brokers to use with their SME customers. Launched onstage at BIBA’s conference by Steve White, BIBA’s Chief Executive, he highlighted the new guide as one of the areas where BIBA is working with a focus to support SMEs.

Steve said: “We are delighted to make this guide available to our members and their SME clients. It will not only provide a helpful tool for brokers but is also a strong platform to promote the need for advice and the important role that brokers play in helping and protecting SMEs. The aim is to use this additional resource to help lement the guidance that brokers already provide.”

Graeme Trudgill, BIBA’s Executive Director, said: “Insurance is complicated and this handy pocket guide has been created to help explain to SMEs why they should consider various options for their business, which types of insurance are al al requirements as well as what is essential for them. They can work with their broker who can help them arrange suitable cover.

“We partnered with the ‘Dummies’ series as it is the world’s best-selling reference brand, selling more than two hundred million books, with one sold every minute in the UK. It is a great way to deliver important messages about obtaining the right cover to ensure the UK’s businesses are suitably protected.”

The guide follows ‘Business Continuity for Dummies’ which was launched by The Cabinet Office and BIBA in 2012 to help SMEs understand the importance and significant benefits of business continuity plans. Hard copies of the new guide will be available to BIBA members along with an online version.

Fellow author Stuart Sterling, who led the Cabinet Office group that produced ‘Business Continuity for Dummies’ said: “Insurance is an essential but sometimes complex area to get right. This helpful little guide will be a great support to all existing and future SMEs in helping them to understand it better.”

Read all about it

View more in Broker Magazine

Case Studies

The 'Find-a-Broker" Service helps more than a quarter of a million customers every year seek the insurance protection they need. Read some real life examples of how people have found insurance.

Mr Dingwall (70) and I have a number of health conditions that we are taking medication for and we have struggled to get adequate insurance through other providers.

We planned a last minute trip to Barcelona in September, so we decided to purchase our policy in August. Our telephone enquiry (with Rebecca from Avanti Insurance Brokers) must have taken the best part of 40 minutes, but she was professional and empathetic the whole way through the conversation which really put us at ease.

By the end of the conversation, we were not only really pleased with both the price and the customer service, but we were also able to go on holiday with complete peace of mind knowing that we were covered in case of an emergency abroad. I will definitely be taking all of our future travel insurance with BIBA broker Avanti.

Mrs Patricia Dingwall (76) from North Yorkshire

mefreethrowCustomers have told us how valuable signposting can be.

Mark Scholefield who suffers from cerebral palsy, plays wheelchair basketball at a high level and has just secured a contract to play professionally for an Italian team. He was due to leave the UK in September 2013 to play in Italy until May 2014. Mark experienced difficulty accessing insurance for his personal possessions, medical cover and his car.

Mark’s mother Karen Scholefield was assisted by Sandra Dawson from H&R Insurance Services and in addition was signposted to the BIBA Find a Broker helpline. She was put through to relevant brokers for each type of insurance where solutions were provided.

Karen said:

The brokers provided an excellent service, the process was very straight forward, they ran through the main features of the insurance policies with me. They were a tremendous help and it was a great comfort to know that Mark had appropriate cover in place prior to his departure.

Mark and Karen Scholefield

biba-arson-case-studyHaving been victims of a devastating arson attack in July 2012, we were very concerned about the risks to the future of our business. We looked to our insurance broker for their support.

By 8am our insurance broker J & A Brokers Limited heard about the fire and was immediately on-site with all documentation and was actively sorting out the situation. We had lost all power on-site including phone lines that could not be redirected, but thanks to the help from our broker, by the end of the day we had full power with restored phone lines and were able to operate again.

We can’t thank J&A Brokers enough, for their hands-on approach. We feel that the support, help and advice we have received following the terrible incident were critical to the survival of our business.

Alasdair Newton
Omega Business Suppliers

Mrs Ellis needed to find insurance for her daughter’s car which was in France but would be returning to the UK. Having trawled the internet and spoken to a number of different insurers she was becoming increasingly frustrated at her lack of progress. It was important to Mrs Ellis that the correct insurance was put in place.

Fortunately, it was suggested to Mrs Ellis that she call the BIBA Find a Broker helpline; she did and with the help of a BIBA insurance broker, was guided through the process and found a suitable solution.

Mrs Ellis

biba-douglas-insurance-case-studyHaving been victims of a devastating arson attack in January 2010, we were completely overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation. We did not know what or how to go about trying to sort things out.

By 9am our insurance broker Adrian Sutton, of Douglas Insurance Services, had heard about the fire and was immediately on site and actively sorting out the situation. By 12.30pm our broker had us viewing temporary premises, by 2 pm we had met the loss adjuster who arranged for the salvage team to start clearing the property and by 4 pm the property had been boarded up, made safe and we felt we could leave.

Our broker continued to work late into the evening and the next day was back on site with lots of ideas for publicity and the new temporary premises. He could see we were still completely shell-shocked by the events and continued to support us over the weekend popping round to the shop and ringing to check on progress of the stock take every day.

Even now as things have calmed down and business is picking up, our broker is continuing to help with the claims presentation and is on hand if anything crops up that we are unsure of. We feel that the support, help and advice we have received since that fateful evening has been incalculable. Without our broker we would not have re-opened Thornton’s Cycle Centre two weeks after a fire which destroyed all our stock. In fact we probably would not be open even now.

David and Nicola Thornton
Partners of Thornton’s Cycle Centre

biba-ww2-veterans-case-studyIn 2015, the Taxi Charity10 – run and funded by London’s cab drivers – took 120 veterans back to the Netherlands to attend a commemoration ceremony for the Liberation of Arnhem in 1945. The veterans who came from all over the UK had not been back since they left the war torn city 70 years earlier. The oldest veteran to travel was aged 97, with a further 100 veterans aged 90 or above so specialist travel insurance was vital.

BIBA member, PJ Hayman & Co Ltd, via its Free Spirit scheme, took an innovative approach to the insurance requirements and abandoned the ‘one size fits all’ standard policy and stepped outside the usual medical screening ‘box’ to provide the Taxi Charity with a tailor-made policy including blanket cover for the medical risks of the travelling group.

Mary Holt, Free Spirit Manager explained; “It would have been an impossible task to medically screen each person. Providing the insurance wasn’t just about ages and medical risks, it was about giving the veterans the peace of mind that should something happen to them on their trip, they would be covered.”  Free Spirit was able to offer full policy cover to a total of 306 veterans, committee members, carers, drivers, medical support team members and guests. We are pleased to say the whole travelling group returned safely with not a single claim against the policy.

biba-liversidge-case-study#Making Memories

In the summer of 2015 the Liversidge family were unable to find travel insurance for terminally ill Jason Liversidge due to the seriousness of his conditions.

Liz Liversidge tells the story:

“My husband is the only person in the world with both Motor Neurone and Fabry disease. This meant we just could not find travel insurance to have our dream holiday to Disney World, so we were delighted when BIBA broker & MND Association volunteer Greg Broadhurst saw our tweet for help and contacted BIBA.  A quick tweet back from BIBA and we were able to use its Find-A Broker service which thankfully was able to provide a suitable insurance policy so we could have this important holiday together.

I want to highlight to others the benefits of the BIBA Find-A-Broker service which enabled me to arrange cover and, could do so for others even if they have a number of serious conditions like my husband.”

Watch the full story here

MP Guide - Helping Constituents

biba-mp-guideHelping your constituency with insurance matters – lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec a euismod metus.

See our guide for MP’s here

Financial Conduct Authority Paper

Industry leaders give their thoughts on consumer vulnerability

A vulnerable consumer is someone who, due to their personal circumstances, is especially susceptible to detriment.

View on FCA website

Signpost agreement - helping customers find insurance

BIBA, the ABI and the Government have announced to continue the ‘signposting agreement’ that came into force in 2012 to improve transparency and access to insurance for older customers

Read more

Code of Good Practice to help vulnerable customers

The Association of British Insurers and the British Insurance Brokers’ Association launched a joint Code of Good Practice to help insurers and insurance brokers recognise and help potentially vulnerable customers, who may need extra support when renewing motor and home insurance policies.

View Code of Conduct

View Press release

Find Insurance

Whatever type of insurance you need to find, BIBA can connect you with a broker who can help. Please use the search below or call our Find a Broker Service on 0370 950 1790.

© BIBA 2017