Biba’s 2020 turnover fell by 36% due to Covid-19 impact

The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (Biba) has reported a 36% drop in turnover for 2020, compared to its 2019 figure, which the trade body attributed to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This included having to cancel its May 2020 annual conference in Manchester due to national lockdown rules.

Biba published its financial accounts, made up to 31 December 2020, on Companies House today (8 July 2021).

Although the statement did not include a profit or loss account, a Biba spokesperson said: “Despite the pandemic ultimately resulting in five Biba roles being made redundant, the Biba team made an exceptional effort to deliver vital guidance to members on the implications of the FCA’s [business interruption insurance] court case, as well as maintaining the majority of benefits for members along with our schemes, facilities and an increased number of webinars, while responding to a significantly increased volume of technical and regulatory queries.

“Though its 2020 turnover was reduced by almost 36% on the previous year because of Covid-19, Biba has always managed funds cautiously, with a view to directing expenditure entirely for the benefit of members, and maintains healthy reserves and cash flow, which helped us to withstand the financial shock of Covid-19.

“We also took measures to curtail expenditure and were able to mitigate our reduced income via an insurance claim for the cancelled 2020 conference, which additionally enabled Biba to refund deposits and payments made by conference exhibitors and sponsors. The result for 2020 was that the association returned a small surplus.”

IT investment

The trade body’s net current assets in 2020 amounted to £4m, compared to £3.9m in 2019. Its reserves, including income and its expenditure account, for 2020 were also £4m, versus £3.9m in 2019.

Biba believes that its “previous investment in IT” has been useful in keeping its functions afloat during the turbulence of the pandemic.

The spokesperson continued: “As a result of Covid-19, 2020 was an unprecedented year for Biba and our members.

“However, we were able to continue the majority of our core functions due to the previous investment in IT, allowing significant virtual engagement in our board and committee meetings as well as increased government engagement on member issues.

“Despite the challenges of Covid-19, we believe we have been able to deliver significant levels of support to members while maintaining our reserves, high member retention and excellent levels of productivity and team commitment.

“We would like to thank the entire Biba team for their outstanding efforts during this challenging time.”