"2024 marks the start of the election year, and at a time when political parties are trying to appeal to the country for support, they need to consider the realities people are experiencing."
- Graeme Trudgill, CEO of BIBA
The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) has called for a 2% reduction for Insurance Premium Tax (IPT), Travel Insurance to be aligned with the standard IPT rate (ending the anomaly whereby 20% is applied), and multi-occupancy residential buildings which require cladding remediation to be IPT-exempt. Furthermore, the industry body has asked the Government to invest in flood defences via the Spring Budget, to help ease the Cost-of-Living Crisis burden.
BIBA believes these “straightforward interventions” could reduce some financial burden, which has been triggered by inflationary pressures, that consumers face in terms of insurance.
To assist consumers in flood zones, BIBA has asked for long-term investment in flood defences at a higher level that 2020; exempt flood resilience materials from Value Added Tax; and the reinstatement of the commitment made in 2016 to ring-fence a proportion of IPT receipts for flood defence investments.
This call to action has been triggered by reports from the National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee which revealed a 40% reduction in the Government’s flood defence spending between 2017 and 2021.
Graeme Trudgill, CEO of BIBA, recognises that the UK is struggling with the Cost-of-Living Crisis burden; “this sits at the heart of our calls to action.” He’s been concerned to hear about individuals cutting back on their insurance, or in extreme cases, cancelling policies.
“2024 marks the start of the election year, and at a time when political parties are trying to appeal to the country for support, they need to consider the realities people are experiencing – particularly when their key economic targets include growth and security,” he explained.
“Ultimately, insurance brokers always have customer protection at the heart of what they do, and we believe the upcoming Spring Budget is a great opportunity for the Government to act on this at a national level,” Graeme concluded.
