Some thoughts from the Editor’s keyboard;
One keynote speaker was missing from the BIBA 2026 Conference, Andy Burnham Mayor of Manchester and perhaps future Labour leader. For me it’s no great loss, since the platitudes of politicians whether they be Boris Johnson or Burnham, have very little relevance to the crucial business of BIBA itself; bringing together brokers, their underwriting partners, MGAs, insurtechs and other suppliers.
Looked at objectively the UK has had anti-business governments since 1997, who all share a common thread; regulation is King, not the customer. Add on repeated cases of nepotism/chumocracy when it comes to key positions within the regulatory framework, blatant fraud by politicians from MPs to local Councillors and the overwhelming evidence that the UK just doesn’t work anymore, and I am done with listening to political speeches about growth, resilience, supporting business blah-blah-blah. It’s BS and everyone knows it.
Although the mood at BIBA 2026 was positive, there’s no denying that building a company up – like a brokerage – from scratch and then reaping the rewards is becoming as much of a pipe dream as a 25 year old getting on the London property ladder. The lowering of NI thresholds, raising of minimum wage, “day one” Tribunal rights, freezing of personal tax thresholds and increases in CT, plus reduced CGT and company dividend amounts have hammered entrepreneurs. If you had capital to invest then you would look elsewhere beyond the UK right now.
Yet there is a reason for positivity; insurance is about to step into an AI driven Riskworld. Innovation is going to come from within.
LET ONE HUNDRED AI FLOWERS BLOOM
OK yes, I paraphrased a well known Maoist saying for a reason. We need new ideas, lateral thinking, even visionary thinking. You never get that from politicians. BIBA needs a keynote speaker for 2027 who can set out how AI and better use of data can deliver happier policyholders, online upselling and embedded extras without stress, plus streamline claims bottlenecks where insurers and brokers alike still get flak from the public.
I don’t know who that speaker is, but I can bet money that they are working for a China based, online only insurance brand, which is laser focused on delivery, at every step. No excuses, no lost-in-translation chatbots, no failure to personalise the quote to match the policyholder’s behavioural data. For this is the key to future success; away with risks based on postcodes or occupations, this isn’t the 1990s. It’s time to genuinely reward loyalty with a discount, not wait for the FCA to retrospectively apply some arbitrary compo scheme in a decade’s time. In short, the insurance sector needs to embrace its own future and become trailblazers of AI, not mere followers of weak, confused and occasionally corrupt government regulations.
THE INSURANCE SECTOR MUST RESIST POLITICALLY CORRECT AI REGULATIONS
It isn’t our job to fund an ever growing army of public sector regulators. In fact more regulation will undoubtedly dilute the power of AI to truly personalise quotes for good customers. In the end politicians won’t be able to resist shifting the claims costs of delinquent customers onto the shoulders of those who cause no accidents and make very few claims. It’s called buying votes from your client base. Eventually insurers will have to exit certain sectors because the regulated AI is setting premiums far too low for drivers who enjoy racing their mates at 1am, or landlords who pack 8 men into a 2 bedroom terraced HMO.
But that cosy, touchy-feely let’s even out the costs for everyone approach isn’t how AI should work. It should objectively assess risk based on hundreds of factors, sift layers of historical and real time data and then cross reference that with the individual, or company, asking for the quote. If red flags pop up, then decline to quote, swerve the huge risks that AI is highlighting via analytics. In fact, let the government of the day set up their own insurer of last resort for the dubious vape shops, Motability fakers or criminals on the pathway of rehab.
The UK has profoundly shifted from a high to low trust society in the last 20-25 years and that is precisely why the insurance sector needs AI to make true sense of the individual risk. If brands try to insure everyone, for every risk, at a capped price set by regulated AI, then firms will go bust. It’s as simple as that.
So 2027’s keynote speaker needs to offer a pathway to a fair value future, where brokers, MGAs and underwriters can all access an ecosystem that is regulated of course, but transparent as regards the customer’s pricing, on a case by case basis. A speaker who can add detail and insights on case studies, on how new products were tested, then deployed. How claims were settled faster, with robust anti-fraud tech built-in, fair asset values shifting in real time. How good customers were rewarded with cheaper rates for trading granular data. That’s what I want to listen too.
Not politicians empty promises.
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