Biba says brokers must prove value in current economy

Brokers will need to enhance their efforts to demonstrate the value of their services to small businesses, particularly during the recession, the British Insurance Brokers' Association (Biba) has said.

Recent research commissioned by the trade organisation has revealed that a third of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) not using an insurance broker did not understand that their method of buying insurance - either via a bank, trade association or direct online - was not advised and that they were probably only being offered a single product.

Additionally, while 63% of SMEs who did not use brokers responded that they received specialist advice in identifying a suitable insurance policy