The British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA) will be seeking further concessions from government on Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) and P11D costs for health cover in its Budget submission, chief executive Steve White has told Health & Protection.
BIBA’s 2023 manifesto stops short of calling for an outright reduction in IPT but does demand a freeze to current rates.
White spoke to Health & Protection at the launch of BIBA’s 2023 manifesto titled Managing Risk – Delivering Stability in Parliament yesterday, which also commits to reducing the cost and “disproportionate” burden of regulation on the sector.
And it urged the FCA to adjust the scope of Fair Value Assessments required under its new Consumer Duty so they are only required for non-advised sales.
IPT and P11D for health
While BIBA considers the rate of IPT too high, it called for this to be frozen for the remainder of the Parliamentary term to help guard against the risk of underinsurance.
It also committed to producing guidance for BIBA members to help explain to customers why insurance premiums have increased and what they can do to contain these costs while maintaining insurance protection.
Speaking to Health & Protection, White revealed IPT is “very much” on BIBA’s mind when it comes to health cover.
“It’s not in the manifesto but we’re planning on putting something into our Budget submission so something can be done around the P11D,” he said.
“We’ll be making that point. Clearly getting any IPT concession in a time where Treasury is desperate for revenue is not easy but we think it’s a justified argument with all the pressures on the NHS.”
On regulation, the manifesto calls on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to reduce the cost and “disproportionate” burden of regulation to allow UK businesses to benefit more from financial protections and be able to take more risk, creating new economic growth in support of the government’s aims.
BIBA also called on government and the FCA to take advantage of Brexit freedoms to consider whether the current financial services regulatory regime is proportionate to the risks posed by the insurance broking sector and delivers additional customer benefit, not simply costs.
