- BIBA is committed to representing insurance brokers, to helping access to insurance and to considering environmental, societal, governance, inclusion and diversity issues. We are passionate about the success of the insurance broking sector and encouraging new entrants and returners, and enhancing skills.
BIBA members provide insurance to many millions of customers and we work closely with our members to help people and businesses to find the insurance they need. Around 429,000 people contacted our Find Insurance Service via phone and online in the 12 months up to October 2024.
BIBA is a not-for-profit trade association that represents the interests of insurance brokers and their customers. We have more than 1,800 insurance broking firms in membership operating from over 2,600 offices throughout the UK.
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters, and diverging opinions on approach, continue to dominate the global scene and provide challenges for businesses. There has been an ESG backlash in the US and the EU – which in part aided the demise of the UN-lead Net Zero Insurance Alliance – amid possible anti-competitive concerns.
Increasingly financial businesses are being asked to measure and report on their ESG activities and comply with environmental or social factors to avoid facing regulatory, legal or reputation issues. Last year we saw the FCA’s anti-greenwashing rule and related guidance, as well as the UK’s carbon border adjustment mechanism consultation. What was a trickle of ESG regulation, will in time become a deluge, affecting all businesses.
BIBA aims to help its members navigate those detractors and proponents for ESG and support them through this increasingly complex regulatory and legal environment towards realising the positive benefits of making real progress with their own plans for building sustainable businesses for the future. BIBA is committed to ESG within its operation to ensure a positive impact on our employees and the people and communities that we support every day.
Signatories of the Women in Finance Charter, and we aim to expand diversity on our boards and committees
Supporters of the Group for Autism Insurance and Neurodiversity
Supporters of the United Nations Principles for Sustainable Insurance
Supporters of iCAN – the Insurance Cultural Awareness Network
Corporate members of the Woodland Trust, which helps to recreate, restore and protect UK woodland
Committed to reducing the carbon footprint of the annual BIBA Conference and our office based emissions
Helping our members with their own ESG journey through guides and webinars
Good governance, diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, and environmental footprint reduction underpins the effectiveness of any organisation in a more sustainable future.
How brokers can support the environment
Case Study
Carbon credits
BIBA member, Howden, introduced a new policy to support the buying and selling of carbon credits , applying best practices from the M&A market to the voluntary carbon market. This policy addresses historical environmental, social, and financial risks, as well as fraud in the sector. It acts as a governance mechanism to underwrite the quality of carbon credits. Recently, Mere Plantations, a UK owner of a Ghana teak plantation, adopted this policy which will also help them develop their customer base.
Insurance broking offers an exciting career choice, but many young people are unaware of it. To attract young talent, we need to be able to tell a great story about what our industry has to offer. We were delighted to see BIBA launch its Talent Toolkit which will help brokers nationwide to get younger people excited about joining our profession.
Diversity and inclusion
The regulators’ efforts to move forward with the introduction of a new regulatory framework on diversity and inclusion in the financial sector continue and are welcomed by BIBA, but they need to be proportionate.
BIBA is very supportive of the FCA’s work on non-financial misconduct (NFM) and we will play our part in this important initiative to help make the industry a safe and positive place to work. Having a practical governance structure is core to helping all firms embed positive outcomes across the sector.
Attracting young, diverse talent
Our sector needs more young people and has an ongoing need to attract and retain young talent from more diverse socio-economic backgrounds. BIBA supports the CII’s Aspire Apprenticeships and promotes careers in broking. BIBA also helps its members source the next generation of talent through its Talent Toolkit. Find out more about BIBA’s work in these areas on our website.
Education and training
BIBA works strategically with the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) to raise professional standards by supporting and endorsing the CII’s online learning tool Broker Assess, which is designed for brokers.
Professionalism has never been more important than today. As regulators' and customers' expectations rise, together CII and BIBA can support brokers in fulfilling their continued professional development needs through providing relevant learning, professional standards and guidance. The CII is pleased to continue our partnership with BIBA to promote the development opportunities we offer to all their members.
Supporting Armed Forces Personnel
BIBA is a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant which is a promise from the nation that those who serve or have served in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly.
We have identified insurance broker members that can provide flexibility in the insurance arrangements for service personnel and their families.
These insurance brokers have committed to:
+ Waiving cancellation fees and providing a pro-rata rebate when a member of the armed forces community is posted overseas; and
+ Freezing any No Claims Discounts accrued by a member of the armed forces community on their motor insurance for up to three years.
The insurance needs of the Armed Forces can be quite complex and require special treatment and BIBA has agreed to work with the Ministry of Defence to facilitate and promote ‘signposting’ of personnel to appropriate brokers that specialise in cover for the military via our Find Insurance Service.
