The move comes amid signs of rising tension between insurers, brokers and policyholders about the contentious issue of remuneration in the sector. Critics complain that some forms of payments that insurance companies make to brokers create conflicts of interest, giving brokers incentives to avoid pursuing insureds’ claims.
This is especially so with so-called contingent commission, which insurers make based on factors such as how much business brokers place with them and how profitable it is. At present, brokers in the UK need only provide clients with information about how they are paid to those that request it.
Under plans to revise the so-called Insurance Mediation Directive, Brussels policymakers have proposed to make remuneration disclosure compulsory for all intermediaries. The implementation time table is uncertain, but reforms are likely to be several years hence.
In a so-called manifesto being presented at Westminster on Monday, BIBA will say: “No evidence exists showing that compulsory automatic disclosure of commission by insurance intermediaries as proposed by the EU will yield significant benefits to customers". Last month it said insurance companies had become more reluctant to pay claims, pointing to cases of insurers turning down policy holders’ claims only to later reach settlements after brokers intervened.
The Association of British Insurers denied the suggestion that genuine policyholders were struggling to have their claims paid. BIBA will say the planned European reforms to commission disclosure would put them at a disadvantage to insurance companies that avoid using middlemen.
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