Construction Liability - BIBA calls for change

Our manifesto was an attempt to both highlight the importance of businesses taking,

where possible, some action to address these risks, but also for us to offer some

solutions as to how they might be addressed.

A key theme running throughout our Manifesto was to voice the concerns of

insurance buyers everywhere about the cost of their covers and the careful balance

between adequate insurance protection and value for money. We found

unquestionable evidence of customers looking to reduce their insurance protection

because of affordability concerns which, given the potential for recession over the

next year or so, leaves those buying certain classes of insurance, such as PI, hugely

vulnerable to uninsured claims. From an economic sustainability perspective, when

the incidence i n PI claims is likely to spike, that is not the time to cut cover unless it’s

completely unavoidable.

Paul: Getting that balance right between business protection and affordability

is a hugely difficult issue and one I know our clients have been particularly

grappling with over the last two or three years. Alastair, what are the areas that

BIBA hopes to address to help out?

I think the first strand is education: helping firms understand the nature of and the

need for key insurance covers along with an understanding on how to make a claim

under those covers. Although I know this isn't a problem for G&A clients, many

SMEs may not benefit from the detailed and tailored advice that you provide. Without

that insight, it’s easy to view insurance as an unnecessary overhead, rather than an

essential tool in the kit of any successful business.

Second, I think there are some very big macro- level issues we’re lobbying on around

the level of Insurance Premium Tax and the personal injury discount rate. IPT in the

UK has grown from delivering £3bn to the exchequer in 2015 to a record £6.6bn

today. At the very least, we need a commitment from Government that the rate is

frozen for the remainder of this Parliament, though we’d like to see some reform of

what is ultimately an indirect tax on business.