The 820 delegates at the Biba conference last week discussed the theme Scaling New Heights
Letsure packs six personal lines for Biba
Landlord and tenant specialists Letsure launched a new personal lines product solely for Biba members.
The underwriting agency has received 160 registrations for the Bibalet package.
Letsure product development executive Peter Brown said there were six products within the Bibalet range: landlord's household insurance, tenant's contents insurance, tenant assessment, rent and legal protection, legal protection and holiday home insurance.
He said Letsure's 15 years' experience in the rental market meant it could place risks from which many insurers and brokers shied away.
"It's a combination of experience, we know the market and we control the underwriting on the building and contents by the scope of cover and the intermediaries we use, we rate correctly and we tailor the product to meet the landlord or tenants‚ requirements," Brown said.
He said the business would be placed with Allianz Cornhill, Norwich Union, Royal & SunAlliance and First Assist.
Brown said the Bibalet product enabled brokers to promote their Biba membership to clients. He said many brokers were keen to switch to Bibalet because of the dual-branding opportunities.
Rising PI rates squeezing brokers
Professional indemnity (PI) rates are soaring by up to 200% and the hard market conditions are changing the way brokers work, according to PI specialist Alexander Forbes.
Divisional director Belinda Musson said the tough conditions were forcing brokers to adopt a strictly pro-active approach to their clients, few of whom were seeing their PI premiums rise by less than 70%.
"This year is unprecedented," she said. "The reduced capacity and higher premiums are making life very tough.
"You have to fight to retain your business and get new business.
"Brokers are more likely to get claims notified against them, too."
Brokers were also having to tighten up the way they offered cover under permission delegated by an underwriter.
"A lot of brokers have been exceeding their binding authorities," Musson said.
Anyone using binding authorities were now coming under the spotlight when underwriters were offering PI cover.
She said such delegated powers should be used with far greater care than has been common until now.
"To restrict binding authorities would make a lot of provincial brokers suffer."
Creditor group sets ultimatum
The Creditors of Independent Insurance Group (CIIG) issued an ultimatum to other creditors to join its litigation process or lose their chance to take action against the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
CIIG chairman Kevin Young said a group litigation order had been put together by the group's QC, outlining the alleged failings of the FSA in the collapse of Independent Insurance.
It is ready to file the order against the FSA at the High Court.
Young said the group would then set a time limit for other creditors to join in, most likely a few week.
"I get a lot of people phoning me for updates, who say they will join up when something official is lodged and this is their chance," he said.
"This will force anyone sitting on the fence to decide whether they want to join or not."
He said the order would force the FSA to release documents relating to its dealings with Independent Insurance.
Last July Insurance Times revealed that the French insurance regulator had warned the FSA of its concerns about Independent's reserving as early as December 2000.
Young said the FSA's failure to foresee Independent's collapse made future regulation for brokers a bitter pill to swallow.
"A lot of problems in the past have related to insurers, not brokers. Yet brokers are being asked to take on a stringent regulatory regime," he said.
"What's the point of having a regulator if it doesn't regulate." Young said that, despite talk that the CIIG was running out of steam, it was continually moving the situation ahead.
"The reality is that it has been frustrating because we haven't had a lot of help from the liquidator, so we need more documentation before we pursue KPMG or Watson Wyatt," Young said.
Highway cuts broker rates
Highway is to cut its rates to brokers to stem growing business losses.
The motor insurer acknowledges it has not been competitive in many areas and as a result has launched a major new pricing strategy.
Underwriting director Chris Hill said: "Brokers have used Highway very selectively because we have a number of products aimed at very specific niches.
"Where we are good we're very good. But where we aren't, we are awful.
"In areas where we're not good at the moment, those prices are going to improve."
The price cuts will be delivered as Highway moves towards doing more of its business on-screen for brokers.
An entire new pricing strategy is due for launch later this year as well as moves to bring the current11 major motor products into one new product.This should be on the market in the third quarter of this year.
Hill said: "By the end of next year, on-screen rated business will have increased from being less than 50% of our account at the moment to at least 75%."
Finch bad debt bond scheme
Finch Credit & Surety launched a bond scheme in conjunction with the British Insurance Brokers Association (Biba).
Top-three bond insurer DeMontfort Insurance Company will underwrite the cover.
Finch, formerly PG Finch, has supplied Bad Debt Protection as a Biba scheme since April 2000.
Finch partner Vincent Gardner said: "We launched the new scheme because we're associated with insolvency, so people were ringing us up, asking if we do bonds. But we didn't have an official facility, so I approached Biba to formalise a scheme.
"We emailed 1,000 Biba brokers last week and received about 100 requests for information."
DeMontford marketing manager Bob Souter said the insurer was prepared for plenty of broker interest.
