2017 Hot List Recipient
2020 Hot List Recipient
2021 CEO of the Year
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Milestones
1989
2001
2008
2010
2013
2020
Trudgill joins the insurance broking profession
1989
Trudgill takes his place at BIBA
2001
BIBA creates its first Manifesto to address members’ concerns
2008
Trudgill becomes BIBA’s first head of corporate affairs
2010
Trudgill becomes executive director of BIBA
2013
BIBA forms Access to Insurance Committee
2020
Highlights from a life in broking
It seems almost providential that Graeme Trudgill’s decision to join the insurance profession was based on a risk assessment. One of his grandfathers was in the Air Force, he says, while the other worked in insurance – and, having assessed his own attitude to risk, he opted for the insurance route.
It’s a decision that has paid dividends for the executive director of the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA), who has enjoyed an illustrious career to date, the last two decades of which have been with the association. Trudgill’s early days in the industry saw him take on roles with three insurance brokers in Kent and Surrey between 1989 and 2001, which he describes as a “fantastic experience.”
“I had some great mentors,” he says. “And I remember Harold Stenning, who was the [founder] of Stennings Insurance, took me to London to visit Lloyd’s and the BIBA offices, and BIBA seemed like the centre of the insurance universe, so it really sparked an interest in me.”
When he returned to the office, BIBA stayed in touch, Trudgill says, and when a new role was created on BIBA’s technical services team, he seized the opportunity. Then in 2007, he was selected to head up BIBA’s public affairs department – a role that entailed assessing the challenges facing all BIBA’s committees.
“So I had all these position statements on different bits of paper that really mattered to members on flood insurance, motor insurance, the new FSA regulations and things like that,” he says. “And I thought, what do I do with all this? And Eric [Galbraith, then-CEO of BIBA] and I were talking with some colleagues, and we said, ‘Why don't we start a manifesto and actually have it as a political document?’ So, here we are, 15 manifestos later… and we’ve had some incredible successes.”
In 2013, Trudgill became executive director of BIBA, where, alongside CEO Steve White, he was able to integrate a strategic review that transformed the association into the BIBA that serves the insurance market today. BIBA is the voice of insurance brokers, he says, and represents its members to all stakeholders – from government to regulators to the media to insurance companies to charities – and beyond.
From its new Access to Insurance committee to its promotion of the reputation of the insurance profession to its lobbying work to the range of operational benefits of which members can avail themselves, BIBA’s work is never done. But in Trudgill’s 20 years serving the association, a few key highlights spring to his mind. The BIBA conference is always an incredible highlight, he says, and he can’t wait to get back to Manchester for the in-person event this year.
“Lobbying wise, one of the real highlights was back at our motor committee some years ago when I was writing the manifesto for the following year,” he says. “And I [asked] the motor committee… what should our main mission be on motor insurance this year? And I think it was Nik Springthorpe of One Call who said, ‘We’re in the middle of a post strike; wouldn't it be really great if we could email certificates of motor insurance to our clients?’ And at the time you couldn't.”
The BIBA team agreed it was a great idea that would ensure safe and swift delivery of certificates, and also provide an environmentally friendly alternative to printing and sending them out. Trudgill says he went to the Department for Transport (DFT) and suggested the idea to them, but was faced with reluctance due to the difficulties involved in trying to work out how clients could cancel their policies when they couldn’t return an electronic certificate.
It was a real challenge, he says, but BIBA is naturally persistent, and used that determination to speak to a DFT lawyer, work through the legislative agenda, and navigate the Electronic Communications Act, which was the vehicle through which a solution could be introduced. BIBA was able to surmount the challenge with some help from its friends at the ABI, and consequently got the law changed.
“So now you can email your clients’ certificates instantaneously,” he says. “I think [among] the numbers that we achieved were that 40 million hardcopy certificates no longer have to be issued; that saves members over £10 million a year, and actually saves 10,000 trees a year as well. That's one of my favourite highlights that we've had – but there have been so many.… There are lots of good stories that we could tell.”
Spotlight
BIBA’s raison d'être is to ensure its members have a level playing field by eliminating threats to them and creating operational benefits to support them. Looking at a timely example, Trudgill notes that brokers recently faced a big threat from HMRC when it was proposing to add an insurance premium tax to brokers’ administration fees.
“I think they felt that they had some information that brokers are switching from commissions to fees to avoid IPT, but we went to the FCA and got all the evidence that this was absolutely not the case,” he says. “We lobbied HMRC mightily, and we managed to do away with that threat. So we constantly fight threats from the regulator or from legislation.”
BIBA also works ceaselessly to promote the integral role played by insurance brokers, and this spring marks 10 years since the association launched its first signposting agreement on age with then-Equalities minister Theresa May and the ABI. Since then, BIBA has fielded over 800,000 inquiries from people seeking travel and motor insurance at an older age. The association now boasts four signposting agreements – age, protection, the FCA travel medical directory, and the new flood insurance directory.
The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) is the voice of insurance brokers in the UK, representing the interests of insurance brokers, intermediaries, and their customers. The Association was founded in 1977 to represent independent insurance brokers after the Department of Trade and Industry called for a move to a single trade body.
Today, BIBA advises stakeholders on key insurance issues. The organisation receives hundreds of thousands of enquiries a year via its Find Insurance Services, online, and via telephone, which are directed to insurance broking firms. BIBA has launched four signposting agreements, supporting brokers and their clients across the UK.
Company Profile
1977
YEAR FORMED
1,800
Regulated firms that are members of BIBA
83
Length in pages of BIBA’s 2022 manifesto
100,000+
Number employed by BIBA’s membership
c. 180,000
No. of inquiries to BIBA’s find-insurance service in 2021
Bio
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Years IN THE INDUSTRY
33
Tenure at current position
2017 - Present
BAsed In
2022 marks 15 successful years of BIBA manifestos
Fast Facts
2022 marks 15 successful years of BIBA manifestos
Graeme Trudgill
Executive director at British Insurance Brokers’ Association
Graeme Trudgill has helped shape the direction of BIBA for two decades, but still feels the passion and drive he did when he visited its HQ as a young broker
Read on
“I remember [when] Harold Stenning, founder of Stennings Insurance, took me to London to visit Lloyd’s and the BIBA offices, and BIBA seemed like the centre of the insurance universe”
Graeme Trudgill, BIBA
“Eric Galbraith and I were talking with some colleagues and said, ‘Why don’t we start a manifesto and actually have it as a political document?’ So, here we are, 15 manifestos later”
Graeme Trudgill, BIBA
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2011
While she’s proud of the strides Fundserv made in 2020, Adams acknowledges that it was a challenging time as a leader. Not only did she have to ensure Fundserv kept running efficiently as her team transitioned to working from home, but she was also filled with concern for her team members.
“I just worried about our employees, their mental health and if they would be OK,” Adams says. “I like to see people, so I set up one-on-ones just to connect with them.
Moving forward, Adams says Fundserv’s goals remain aligned with those of its members, and her team will continue listening and understanding what members need so the organization can evolve accordingly. She adds that she wants Fundserv to be so good at providing a secure and reliable service that members forget it’s there – and she wants the company to continue to inspire change in the industry.
“It is sad that it took a pandemic to recog-nize the cheque issue and solve it,” Adams says. “What we will do in the future is root out those things in the industry and not wait for a pandemic to ignite change. There is no reason we can’t change. Change, like auto-mation, will accelerate from now, and we’ll do our part to keep it going.”
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2011
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Trudgill helped introduce electronic policy certificates, saving 10,000 trees a year
Fast Facts