Graeme Trudgill: What brokers can expect from ‘sold out’ Biba Conference 2025

The 2025 Biba Conference is just around the corner – and Biba chief executive Graeme Trudgill believes it could be one of the biggest conferences the trade body has ever done.

He tells Insurance Times that last year, a total of 9,600 insurance professionals attended the event – up 600 delegates compared with the 2023.

This was a record, at the time, for Biba and Trudgill’s goal for 2025 is to achieve a similar number to that – if not better it.

“The exhibition is going to be sold out,” he says.

“Obviously we’re hoping for similar numbers and I think all the indications are that we’re absolutely on track for that.”

Meeting broker requests

This year’s Biba Conference is scheduled for 14 and 15 May 2025, held at Manchester Central. Around 220 exhibitors are expected to attend, including insurers, service providers, brokers and software houses.

This month’s event marks the second one Trudgill is hosting as the chief executive at Biba, after taking over from predecessor Steve White in July 2023. Previously, Trudgill was the trade body’s executive director – a role he had held for just over 10 years.

While Trudgill’s first conference in charge was a success, brokers had made a number of requests for 2025’s edition – one of which was to have a more in depth business session.

This is exactly what Biba has put on the agenda this year, with business leaders gathering on the keynote stage to provide advice on strategies for success in an increasingly competitive landscape. The panel debate will close the first day of the conference.

Speakers for the session include former Dragons’ Den star Piers Linney, Jo Fairley, Richard Susskind and Rob Worrell.

Trudgill adds that the two-day event’s conference agenda very much “reflects members’ requests”.

He continues: “When they raise issues with me, whether it be in an advisory board, technical meeting or the regional tour, it is issues about claims, issues about capacity, issues about regulation, issues about fair value – and that’s why I have chosen those subjects for them [in the conference agenda].

“It should be a really relevant conference.”

Regulation spotlight

It is no surprise that regulation is among the issues that Trudgill listed.

Biba stated in its 2025 manifesto – which was published in January – that it would like the FCA to further its outcomes-based regulatory approach by continuing to review and streamline its handbook, as well as provide greater support for firms via examples of good and poor practice.

This manifesto view is linked to the FCA’s plans to reduce the regulatory burden on firms, with FCA chief executive Nikhil Rathi having written a letter to the government in January 2025 about plans to remove “unnecessary regulation” and support growth.

Trudgill says 2024 was the first time the FCA had attended the Biba Conference “for some years” and that he is glad the regulator is coming back in 2025.

He continues: “To be fair, [the FCA has] engaged really constructively with us and we will make our [Biba] stand available for them to use as well, so [its representatives] can come and have meetings with members that want to speak in private.

“This growth and competitiveness objective that we pushed to get through [as part of the Financial Services and Markets Act] at the end of 2023 has proved to be very helpful in discussing proportionate regulation.

“I would say the team at the FCA have reacted really well and they’ve debated, at length, many of Biba’s ideas of how we can help improve productivity and drive growth. And growth is what this government wants.

“So, for the FCA, I do believe [it] will have an incredibly busy conference. I believe [its] stand will be rammed and I would very much hope [this will be] for good reasons.”

Networking

One of the main reasons people attend Biba’s annual conference, however, is because of the chance to network.

Essentially, the conference provides the opportunity for professionals to do business together and learn from one another – and given how packed the 2024 event was, attendees have asked Biba for more networking space this year.

Trudgill says Biba has managed to “squeeze out” a bit more space this year for networking, adding that it will be “really good” for the trade body’s members to connect with top speakers in the industry.

He continues: “What people like to do in a conference is network, do deals and trade.

“What we get lots of members saying to us is that they get to do what would take months to do outside of the Biba Conference [environment done] in two days.

“[This includes] meeting senior underwriters that they wouldn’t have otherwise necessarily been able to meet if they’re a smaller broker, inking schemes [and] binding risks.

“There’s quite a lot of competition between some of the exhibitors, some of the insurers, about how much business they can do at the Biba Conference.

“I want members to become informed, but also have that opportunity to do business and network.”