By: 11 May 2016
BIBA CEO lashes out at Insurance Premium Tax “assault” as motor premiums go up again

Steve White, the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) CEO, has called the recent repeated hikes in Insurance Premium Tax an “assault” on insurers and policyholders.

Speaking at BIBA’s annual conference in Manchester, White called on the Chancellor to avoid increasing the tax on policyholders.

“Let’s be clear about a couple of things – insurance is not a luxury item, for many it’s a necessity and for all it is a wise precaution,” he said. “And while IPT is a tax collected and remitted by insurers, it is a tax on premiums paid by policyholders – our message on IPT is firm – we’ve reached 10 [%], now never again.”

His comments come as the results for the latest Insurance Price Index from BIBA and Acturis shows another significant rise in the level of premiums charged for private car policies.

The quarterly index showed that in the first quarter of 2016 premiums paid for private car insurance rocketed with an increase of 7.2% – net of Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) – compared to the same period in 2015. This is the second quarter in a row that motor premiums have shown a significant increase, and means that once IPT is factored in, motorists are paying almost 10% more in premiums than they paid last summer.