According to 88% of the respondents, regulation would affect their jobs either negatively or very negatively. Six per cent said there was a strong possibility that it would cause the risk management function to move to another country, with 8% describing it as a small possibility. Removing those who did not express a view from the sample, the totals rise to 8% and 11%. Only 5% agreed with the idea of regulation.
As well as the loss of jobs, any such move would have implications for Lloyd's and the rest of the London insurance market, which still draw much business from UK based firms. AIRMIC members spend £3bn a year on insurance.
The findings, revealed at AIRMIC's annual conference in Manchester, followed months of uncertainty about whether UK risk managers will be included in EU plans to regulate insurance intermediaries from next January.
At issue is whether private sector risk managers, who purchase insurance on behalf of their employers, are to be treated in the same way as brokers and other intermediaries who are paid a fee or commission to buy cover on behalf of clients. Most risk managers work for multinational companies and other large enterprises; more than three quarters of FTSE 100 companies are represented in the membership.
Other findings of the survey include:
- 69% of risk managers expect their firms to make greater use of self-insurance over the next five years
- 60% say their firms have taken a greater interest in risk management over the past year
- 59% believe the cost of directors' and officers' insurance has either stabilised or is falling
- 90% rate their main insurance brokers' performance as good or very good
- 91% rate their relationship with their lead insurers as good or very good
- 62% are either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the price of insurance.
Business interruption remains the main concern for risk managers, followed by reputation management, contract risk management and employer's liability.
