Martin Bridges FCII has spent his career on both sides of the BIBA relationship - first as a broker, then as a BIBA employee, and now as a practising broker again. That rare dual perspective is what makes his appointment as deputy chair of the SME Brokers' Advisory Board (SMEBAB) and member of BIBA's main board one of the more substantive people moves the association has made in recent years.
Bridges, who runs Independent Insurance Services in Folkestone, began his career in insurance broking in 1985. He subsequently joined BIBA as technical services manager in July 2014, later becoming corporate affairs manager and then serving as technical manager and deputy head of insurance at the association - roles in which he led responses to regulatory consultations and served as BIBA's primary point of contact on Manifesto issues. He has since returned to practice, giving him direct, current experience of the pressures facing smaller brokers that he will now represent at the highest level of the association's governance structure.
The SMEBAB's value to BIBA depends entirely on who sits on it. The board's purpose is to surface the issues affecting smaller brokers across the UK and ensure their views shape the association's engagement with regulators, government, and other stakeholders - work that is only as effective as the quality of insight its members bring. An advocate who has navigated that process from the inside, and who now runs the kind of business the board exists to represent, brings a degree of practical credibility that is difficult to replicate.
Bridges takes the role vacated by Shona Robertson of H&R Insurance, who stepped up to Chair of the SMEBAB following the completion of Karen Weir's tenure at Weir Insurance Brokers. Robertson had served as Deputy Chair under Weir, whose appointment to the chair was announced by BIBA in May 2024.
BIBA CEO Graeme Trudgill said the appointment reinforced the advisory board structure's role at the heart of how BIBA represents its membership.
"I am delighted to welcome Martin to this role," he said. "His experience and insight will be invaluable in helping to ensure that the voice of SME brokers continues to be heard in shaping BIBA's work and priorities. Our Advisory Board structure is central to how we represent our members and, having engaged and knowledgeable individuals contributing to this work is hugely important to the association."
Bridges said his time on both sides of the BIBA relationship gave the appointment particular meaning.
"Having been part of BIBA as a member and as an employee, I'm proud to have been appointed as deputy chair of SMEBAB and becoming part of BIBA's main board," he said. "I look forward to representing smaller brokers' views and to working with BIBA to help Graeme and the team progress their important work in the coming years."
The appointment follows a broader round of main board changes announced by BIBA in May 2026, which saw four advisory committee chairs refreshed simultaneously. Robertson took over the SMEBAB from Weir; Andy Tedstone of Cobra Networks succeeded Chris Rolland of AllClear at the Networks and Managing Agents Advisory Board after Rolland's six-year tenure; Stuart Hulbert of Brents Insurance replaced Aon's Jane Kielty on the Insurance Brokers' Standards Committee; and Adam Wenn of Lockton took over the BIBA Finance Committee from Paul Dickson, who had chaired it for six years.
The timing matters. Around two-thirds of UK insurance distribution M&A deals in 2025 sat below the £5 million mark - the highest proportion in five years, according to MarshBerry - reflecting a consolidation wave that is increasingly sweeping up community-based and regional independents of exactly the kind Bridges represents. With a main board voice who runs one of those businesses and knows the association's inner workings, the SMEBAB enters this period better placed than most to make that pressure count.
