“CLARITY, CONSISTENCY AND CREDIBILITY”- THE ABI ARGUES FOR A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD FOR GENERAL INSURANCE.
( 417 words)

Responding to the Treasury’s consultation document Regulating Insurance Mediation, the ABI warns today that excluding travel insurance sold by tour operators and travel agents would lead to uncertainty for millions of consumers, as well as causing competition distortion.

The ABI stressed that clarity, consistency and credibility must be at the heart of the regulation of general insurance. An inconsistent approach among different market sectors will disadvantage consumers and threaten competition. 
 
Mary Francis, the ABI’s Director General, said:

“ While we would have preferred that the regulation of general insurance remained outside the statutory framework, we want to ensure that the new regime will work. To do this it must provide adequate and consistent levels of consumer protection, while supporting genuine competition.
“ More than 12 million people a year buy travel insurance through travel agents and tour operators. Excluding these sales from regulation would lead to confusion for customers. It would also lead to higher compliance costs for regulated providers, so encouraging unregulated sales. This distortion could lead to reduced choice for consumers. “

In its submission, the ABI also supports the regulation of the sale of motor warranty insurance as a first step towards regulation of the whole warranty market. Ultimately there needs to be consistent regulation of the sales of both insured and uninsured warranty products.

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Notes for Editors

1 Enquiries to: Malcolm Tarling     020 7216 7410 ( mobile 07776 147667
                                Leonie Edwards    020 7216 7411 ( mobile 07712 841 184 )

2      A copy of the ABI’s response to The Treasury’s consultation document, Regulating Insurance Mediation, is available on request.  

3     An ISDN line is available for broadcasts.

 4      The ABI is the trade association for Britain’s insurance industry. It represents more than 400 insurance companies, which between them account for over 95% of the business of UK companies. The ABI  represents members to the Government, regulator and other agencies, as well as providing a wide range of services to members.

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Copies of all ABI news releases, together with other information from the Association, can be seen on our website http://www.abi.org.uk

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