Regulatory reforms sought by brokers are progressing through Parliament, but a possible increase in insurance premium tax remains a concern ahead of the budget.
Graeme Trudgill, chief executive of the British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA), said the Financial Services and Markets Bill includes all four regulatory changes the association sought. Securing that legislation was BIBA's leading manifesto ask, and the bill was announced in the King's Speech in May.
The bill completed its passage through the House of Lords in September before passing to the Commons.
BIBA's four priorities are reform of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) so it takes greater account of Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules and case law, simplification of the senior managers and certification regime, faster authorisations and provisional licences for new firms.
The bill would cut the statutory deadline for determining senior manager applications from three months to two. Trudgill said provisional licences would allow new firms to begin operating on a limited basis while seeking full authorisation, including signing agencies and taking on clients. For a new brokerage, "what takes the longest time is the regulatory permissions", he said.
The FCA has been simplifying insurance rules in parallel. Following its May 2025 consultation, it confirmed changes in December aimed at reducing costs and making requirements more proportionate. Its latest consultation, CP26/22, proposes further simplification, including changes to the disclosures insurance intermediaries must give clients.
Trudgill cited the requirement for brokers to disclose whether an insurer holds more than 10% of their brokerage, information he said matters to the regulator but not the client.
"They care about what's their premium, what's their excess, what aren't they covered for? What are they covered for?" he said.
He credited the FCA for working constructively with BIBA over the past couple of years and said the association is not opposed to regulation.
"It's the frictional cost that we're trying to reduce. It's the delays we're trying to reduce," he said.
John Healey will deliver his first budget as chancellor on 28 October. Trudgill said brokers have "battled quite a few tight budgets" in recent years, and insurance premium tax (IPT) remains a potential source of revenue when the Treasury needs income.
IPT receipts reached a record £9.04bn in 2025/26, according to HMRC figures. BIBA describes it as a tax on protection that contributes to underinsurance and uninsured driving.
"We think it would be a mistake to look at that because they want growth," Trudgill said. "This would have a negative effect on growth."
An increase would add to the cost of cover at a time when the government wants to control inflation, he said. Research commissioned for BIBA's 2025 manifesto found that 40% of businesses would pass on the cost of an IPT rise to customers.
BIBA would also welcome changes to the employer National Insurance increase, which Trudgill said had been unpopular with members, although he was unsure whether a reversal was on the government's agenda.
Ministerial turnover has added another challenge. Lucy Rigby returned as City minister in July after Rachel Blake held the role for two months.
"That's a lot of change on a really important brief of financial services," Trudgill said.
BIBA maintains relationships with the Treasury's insurance team and runs a contact programme with MPs, including parliamentary private secretaries who could become ministers. It also continues to work with the new Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade on cyber insurance, with government data showing just 10% of UK businesses hold a dedicated cyber policy.
Political neutrality underpins that work. Trudgill attended the Labour conference, which he described as the most positive he had attended in a long time, while BIBA's new head of public affairs, Amy Cox, attended the Conservative conference to meet senior opposition MPs and shadow ministers. The association talks to all parties, he said.
Given five minutes with Healey before the budget, Trudgill would ask him to get the bill through quickly and leave IPT unchanged. The reforms could reduce the time and cost of running a brokerage; a tax increase would add to the bill clients face for buying protection.
