FEATURES Biba Conference 2024 preview
Writer: Jonathan Swift Contact Details: jonathan.swift@infopro-digital.com
Deadline: 23 April, 2024
If you are attending and exhibiting at the 2024 BIBA Conference in Manchester we would like to hear from you. Please answer as many of the questions below as you want, providing a photo of the spokesperson: 1) Do you have a favourite BIBA moment from previous conferences?
2) If you have a stand at the conference, can you give readers a preview of what they can expect from it?
3) What tip/s would you give to someone going to their first BIBA conference?
4) Outside of the exhibition, are there any panels, speakers or presentations you are looking forward to attending and why?
5) Who is the best speaker you’ve ever seen at the conference? Who would be your dream speaker for the future and why?
6) The theme of the 2024 BIBA Conference is ‘What’s Next?’. What do you rate as the most important thing on the horizon for brokers?
7) Do you have plans for the evenings at BIBA 2024 - if so what are they?
8) Manchester is a well known musical hotbed; what Mancunian anthem will you be listening to on the way to BIBA 2024?
9) When you wake up on the Friday morning after the event, what factors will determine whether you have had a successful BIBA 2024 or not?
Intellectual property insurance feature
Writer: Martin Friel Contact details: mjfriel1999@yahoo.com
Deadline: 16 April, 2024
Wordcount: 1,500 It has been noted that there is more IP in existence today than ever before as companies look for ways to improve their processes and develop new solutions. And that this not only happening in industries that might have previously been seen as more traditional and resistant to technology; but its value is of growing at a faster rate than physical assets. Indeed speaking to Insurance Age’s sister title Post last year Aon’s UK CEO Jane Kielty said the broker is looking at where it can create the most value for its customers and, as a result, it is starting to provide advice and placing cover for intellectual property, rather than the “traditional types of risk transfer”. She added: “Our clients are moving away from having buildings, stock and factories to insure. You see many more clients now where intellectual property is where the value of the business is.” https://www.postonline.co.uk/broker/7953531/aon-shifting-focus-to-intellectual-property-cover-for-smes With this in mind Insurance Age plans to look at what brokers are doing to help their clients protect their IP/copyright and the regulations in place to help them do this. Are brokers who are not addressing IP issues missing out on current revenue? It will also cover how brokers can help educate clients, especially SMEs, about intangible assets - including IP – and the need to protect them. The article will question how insurers are supporting the sector to do this. Finally, the article will canvas views from brokers and insurers about what IP insurance tends to cover and where it might go in the future; especially as the use of AI proliferates and creates its own challenges. Could the growing area become even more rewarding for brokers in the future?
The role of brokers in fighting insurance fraud feature
Writer: Edward Murray Contact details: edwardmurray@blueyonder.co.uk
Deadline: 16April, 2024
Wordcount: 1,500 Allianz Commercial detected £77.4m worth of claims fraud in 2023 – up from £70.7m in 2022, the latest in a string of stories about rises. https://www.insuranceage.co.uk/insurer/7954481/allianz-commercial-sees-double-digit-jump-in-fraud-detection-again The value of the average insurance fraud case jumped by 20% to £15,000 in 2022 according to the Association of British Insurers and Aviva has previously revealed that it uncovered more than 9,250 instances of fraud in 2022 – saving customers £120m. https://www.insuranceage.co.uk/insight/7953568/insurance-scams-totalling-ps11bn-detected-in-2022 https://www.insuranceage.co.uk/insurer/7954094/aviva-uncovered-ps120m-of-fraudulent-claims-in-2022 With all this talk of fraud escalating in terms of value or number Insurance Age has decided to throw the spotlight on the role of the broker in combatting these crimes. Among the questions we will look at is how brokers can help highlight and identify potentially fraudulent policy submissions or claims, whether in personal or commercial lines. It will look at how important broker fraud controls are in terms of winning agencies with insurers - and what intermediaries are being asked to do to reduce the exposure of their underwriters to potentially fraudulent risks. As well as what insurers are doing to help brokers get more attuned to spotting them. Is it all about data, or human intervention or a mix of both – where does the balance lie? And in both cases how is the info/expertise sourced and who pays for it? Finally, it will look at how broking as a sector as a whole can help root out the scourge of ghost brokers, who acting as insurance intermediaries target vulnerable communities with fake policies. Uncorking the Great British wine market
Writer: Emmanuel Kenning Contact Details: emmanuel.kenning@infopro-digital.com
Deadline: 9 May, 2024
Wordcount: 1,500
Figures from Wines of Great Britain have revealed the largest ever yield of 20-22 million bottles last year, around 60% up on the previous best in 2018. The association for the English and Welsh wine industry labelled 2023 as one that “will undoubtedly be remembered as a near perfect year”.
It is a booming industry. Production over the years has increased because of more vines being planted and higher yields. The number of hectares in production almost trebled between 2012 and 2023 while yields per hectare have risen by double digits. Against this sparkling backdrop Insurance Age is investigating the challenges for vineyards and brokers from growing and producing to distributing and marketing. While there are core covers different sized vineyards will have different needs. Is it a market for only specialist brokers with a nose for the business? Just how thirsty are insurers for the risks? Topics to be addressed include cover for: stock, equipment, supply chain issues, pollution (of water or ingredients), IP, goods in transit – in the UK and abroad – as well as product recall and liability. As vineyards grow and include additional activities such as restaurants and activity days just how is the insurance market coping? And is parametrics helping on weather and pest-related risks? How are brokers managing the capacity crunch in Northern Ireland
Writer: Sian Barton Contact Details: sianelizabarton@gmail.com
Deadline: 9 May, 2024
Wordcount: 1,500
In February Markerstudy admitted that it had put its Northern Ireland business on pause and was weighing up its options about what its market re-entry would look like. https://www.insuranceage.co.uk/insurer/7954448/markerstudy-weighing-up-northern-ireland-options-as-it-exits-short-term-market The MGA is not alone, with brokers noting that the capacity crunch seen across the United Kingdom has been felt harder in Northern Ireland than many locations - with motor and household particularly impacted. With this in mind Insurance Age plans to talk to local brokers to find out how they are managing customer expectations in line with premium rises and availability of cover; and what the are doing to regain the faith of carriers who have withdrawn or reduced appetite for Northern Irish business. | 