The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is set to rejoin the British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA) on its UK-wide Tour of the Regions this autumn.
BIBA has confirmed that the FCA will be travelling around the UK in the autumn to meet members and discuss regulatory issues directly with them.
This will be the third year that Lisa Sturley, head of insurance at the FCA, and her team have joined BIBA's Tour of the Regions. The tour sees BIBA's senior team meeting members across the regions to discuss issues affecting brokers.
The tour will visit 11 locations and attracted more than 1,000 attendees last year, with wider knowledge forums hosted in five regions.
For many brokers, the visit comes at a time of heightened regulatory scrutiny. The FCA is still embedding the Consumer Duty across retail and SME lines, tightening expectations on product governance, distribution chains and fair value – not just for insurers, but also for intermediaries and appointed representatives.
Sturley framed the tour as an opportunity for direct input into the regulator’s thinking.
"We really welcome the opportunity to join BIBA's regional tour again and connect with BIBA members," said Sturley. "What we hear from you helps influence and guide future changes to our rules and supervisory approach."
Recent FCA activity has shown its willingness to intervene where it sees poor value or unclear cover. Brokers have warned that a “race to the bottom on price” has harmed client outcomes and damaged trust in the market. The regulator has also signalled that expectations on “fit for purpose products and clarity of cover regardless of distribution channel” apply equally to intermediary-distributed business.
For BIBA, the tour is closely linked to its annual manifesto, which shapes lobbying with the FCA, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and government. The association has repeatedly called for more proportional regulation and simplified reporting, warning that frameworks such as the Consumer Duty and General Insurance Pricing Practices rules are creating “huge confusion about the rules”, particularly where insurers adopt “platinum-plated” data requests from intermediaries.
BIBA has also backed calls for a new Financial Services Bill to “simplify the FCA rulebook and reduce regulatory duplication,” arguing that layering consumer-focused rules on to commercial lines is adding unnecessary complexity.
BIBA chief executive Graeme Trudgill said the FCA’s continued participation reflected the importance it placed on the broking sector.
The regulator is expected to face questions on oversight of outsourced claims, governance around complex distribution chains and the PRA’s renewed emphasis on delegated authority arrangements – all areas that reach into broker and MGA operations. Previous enforcement action has highlighted governance weaknesses, including add-on selling and complaints handling, where senior oversight and front-line practices have diverged.
Brokers attending the 2026 tour will also be able to meet and question the BIBA team, hear from other special guests including sponsors Premium Credit, and raise issues ranging from data demands under Consumer Duty to underinsurance and claims performance. Smaller firms, which often “don’t have the resources or the confidence” to interpret broad, outcomes-based rules, are likely to press the FCA on how proportionality should work in practice.
