The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) has launched some cross industry guidance that will reduce misunderstandings over what should have been disclosed when cover was taken out and which in some cases will cause a claim to be repudiated or reduced.
The guidance, titled A clearer approach to disclosure aims to introduce clarity and certainty to the information underwriters are seeking. By asking these important questions in a consistent and unambiguous way, the purpose is to eliminate as far as possible room for dispute when a claim is presented – this works in both directions – to the advantage of both customers and insurers.
BIBA’s Head of General Insurance, Alastair Blundel explains: “We do get alerted to cases where a misunderstanding over what actually needs to be declared has resulted in customer detriment., particularly in relation to previous historical: criminal prosecutions; insolvency events or policy cancellation or voidance by an insurer.
“In addition, the guidance seeks to encourage using an agreed period required for disclosure and to move away from open ended questions such as ‘have you ever had a CCJ’ or ‘have you ever had a policy cancelled. The guidance suggests clarity over the number of years requested when it comes to asking these questions.”
This document has been produced as a result of collaboration by BIBA’s Insurance Brokers’ Standards Committee and Industry Claims Working Group with help from the team at Flaxmans. It Is divided into two sections suggesting changes for consumer then business question sets, and also includes a helpful glossary.
Alastair concludes: “BIBA’s 2025 Manifesto has a section on creating great customer experiences and in there we commit to working with insurers to incorporated key points of this guidance when drafting their Statements of Fact, question sets and customer declarations. Our next steps will be to discuss the contents of the guidance with insurers and encourage its use.”
A clearer approach to disclosure is available now Download here.
ENDS
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About the British Insurance Brokers’ Association
The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) is the UK’s leading general insurance intermediary organisation representing the interests of insurance brokers, intermediaries and their customers.
BIBA membership includes around 1800 regulated firms, employing more than 120,000 people.
General insurance brokers contribute 1% of GDP to the UK economy; they arrange 77% of all general insurance with a premium totalling £105.5bn and 94% of all commercial insurance business.
BIBA is the voice of the sector advising members, Government, regulators, consumer bodies and other stakeholders on key insurance issues.
The BIBA Conference is Europe’s largest insurance exhibition and hosts over 9000 insurance professionals and 230 exhibitors annually.
