Biba and the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) have jointly warned the government that it must do more to combat the disproportionate impact of regulation on small insurance brokers.
On the first day of the Biba annual conference in Brighton, attended by nearly 2000 people, Biba released new research showing that the smaller the company the greater the proportion of their annual income is spent on meeting the demands of regulation.
Representing over 50,000 individual brokers, Eric Galbraith, Biba chief executive has written to the Prime Minister, urging him to urgently review the disproportionate cost of regulation on small businesses.
The new research shows that an average of 3.7% of a company's annual income is spent on meeting regulation. However, for companies with less than £100,000 in income that figure rises to 5.20%, compared with 1.13%.for companies with an annual income of more than £1m.
Galbraith said: “Excessive regulation can be damaging for all businesses, but it is not good enough that the smallest companies are having to spend five times more than the largest simply to keep up with regulatory demands.
"Everyone knows that regulation is required, but it should be proportionate and not penalise the smallest businesses.”
Stephen Alambritis, FSB head of parliamentary affairs, added: “Our country's economic health depends on the success of small businesses. Regulation, both its volume and complexity, is a major issue for all small businesses."
