Biba CEO warns of online challenge

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Biba chief executive Eric Galbraith has voiced his concerns at the transactional nature of insurance and the over-emphasis on price.

Despite insisting he supported the prevalence of technology, he cited the "unhealthy focus" on price that has emerged in the aggregator era.

Speaking at Purple Partnership's annual member conference, held at Celtic Manor, Mr Galbraith warned: "Insurance has moved on to a transactional business, it's important for us to demonstrate that's not the right way to go about getting the right answer from both insurers and the customers point of view.

"If you take comparison sites, they have produced a position where there's an unhealthy focus on price - more claims, more fraud, it's not good business."

He highlighted the on-going challenge brokers face at making a success out of transacting SME business online.

Win-win
And he urged technology to be used in a more complementary method, as opposed to simply facilitating online transactions.

"You [brokers] know your customers, I would just like to see insurers give more recognition of that," he added.

"Using technology combined with insurance is a win-win formula.

"Let's not let this sector get into a transactional business as that's not what it should be."


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