BIBA 2026: BCIS’s top conference takeaways

If the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) Conference 2026 encapsulated anything, it was this: an industry acutely aware of the complex and evolving risk landscape facing its clients, with a strong ambition to deepen its use of data and technology to tackle existing and emerging challenges with greater operational efficiency and resilience.

Protection gaps and underinsurance featured prominently throughout discussions. Conversations focused not only on identifying gaps in cover, but also on helping clients better understand risk exposure, policy scope and claims expectations.

These discussions took place against a backdrop of wider political and economic uncertainty, including Cabinet resignations and ongoing leadership speculation within government.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham’s absence from the conference reflected the pace of change currently shaping both the political landscape and the wider operating environment for businesses and households.

For BCIS, many of these themes closely align with ongoing challenges around property risk and rebuild costs. Reinstatement risk remains a significant issue for property owners, with rebuild costs continuing to be influenced by energy pricing, regulatory requirements, labour availability and tender pricing conditions.

Across both panel discussions and conversations on the exhibition floor, there was clear recognition that brokers are uniquely placed to strengthen client understanding of underinsurance and drive more proactive, data-led risk management.

Here are some of our standout themes and conversations from BIBA 2026.

Time: To scale AI capability

AI featured heavily across conference discussions, particularly around how brokers and insurers are integrating AI-enabled tools into day-to-day operations.

Speakers discussed how automation and AI-supported analytics are increasingly being applied to areas such as data processing, underwriting support and lead assessment. Several speakers suggested these applications are shifting beyond pilot activity towards more regular operational use.

Use cases already include navigating complex underwriting guidelines more effectively, reducing expense ratios for insurers and helping insurers to assess lead conversion potential.

Conversational analytics are also being used to help brokers better understand product experience and client outcomes.

Alongside these opportunities, panellists stressed the importance of optimising manual and legacy processes before scaling AI adoption. Several speakers further highlighted that AI should support professional judgement rather than replace it, particularly where complex insurance decisions and client understanding are concerned.

Time: To improve data applications

Better use of data was another consistent theme throughout the conference. Discussions focused on how insurers and brokers can use structured and reliable data more effectively to support product development, client engagement and operational decision making.

Several speakers noted that the effectiveness of AI-enabled tools depends heavily on the quality and structure of underlying data. This was repeatedly linked to the need for improved data governance, cleansing and consistency across organisations.

The broader objective discussed across sessions was improving the relevance and speed of client interactions while supporting more informed decisions around risk and insurance cover.

Cos Kamasho, insurance data manager at BCIS, said: ‘The insurance industry has an exceptionally rich archive of data, and that was clear throughout our conversations at the conference. The ambition across the market is to use technology to do more of the operational legwork, enabling professionals to apply insights more quickly and effectively, whether around risk analytics, client behaviour or pricing patterns.

‘In the context of using AI-enabled tools, this begins with the cleansing and restructuring of the data to enable complex interrogation with these tools and provide reliable insights for decision making. It’s about making the insurance ecosystem operate in a more cohesive and efficient way.

‘At BCIS, we provide both data and technology that help insurers, brokers, underwriters and MGAs make fast, informed decisions about the property insurance solutions they deliver to clients. In that sense, we have an integral role in helping the industry embed more sophisticated, data-driven ways of working into everyday operations.’

Time: To collaborate more

Most panels referenced collaboration to improve client outcomes.

Discussions focused on the need for stronger connectivity between different parts of the market, particularly as risks become more interconnected and customer expectations continue to evolve. Some panellists suggested that stronger collaboration could help identify where claims experiences, policy structures or operational processes are creating unnecessary friction for clients.

There was wider discussion around the importance of collective risk sharing, both within domestic markets and internationally. Some speakers argued that the insurance industry has historically undersold the value it provides in supporting economic resilience and helping businesses recover from periods of volatility.

The overall sentiment was that stronger operational alignment and better information sharing would help improve trust, reduce inefficiencies and support resilience across the insurance market.

Time: To address protections gaps

Protection gaps and underinsurance were repeatedly identified as significant challenges for the insurance market. Discussions suggested that misunderstanding around policy scope, claims expectations and levels of cover continues to contribute to gaps in protection.

Panellists highlighted the continued importance of brokers in helping clients interpret complex information and make informed decisions. This formed part of wider conversations around improving policy language, strengthening collaboration across the industry and reinforcing the broker’s role as a ‘resilience partner’ to clients.

Home insurance was highlighted as a particularly complex product, often made more challenging by the financial and emotional importance of assets to clients.

Anthony Struwig, an account director specialising in insurance at BCIS, reiterated the significance of insurance professionals in the client education piece.

‘One of the clearest messages we heard was how critical brokers and insurance professionals remain in helping clients understand and reduce their risk exposure. At a time when businesses are facing more complex and interconnected risks, from cyber threats and climate change to rapid digital transformation, the need for informed guidance and client education has only increased.

‘We know underinsurance remains a significant issue within property insurance. We have a deep understanding of what this means for everyone in the professional ecosystem and provide a multitude of insurance products to meet different needs.

‘Our discussions at BIBA demonstrated that there is a real appetite for rebuild cost intelligence across the market. People really want to help manage client expectations, reduce protection gaps, improve conversations around cover and ultimately support better insurance outcomes.’

Time: To elevate the claims experience

Claims handling was framed as the moment where trust in insurance is ultimately tested. While technology and automation are improving operational efficiency, speakers highlighted the importance of communication, empathy and clear guidance during the claims process.

Conversations underlined how are clients rarely involved with the claims process regularly, meaning it can feel unfamiliar and highly stressful, particularly in emotionally sensitive areas such as home insurance. This reinforces the importance of brokers and insurers supporting clients clearly throughout the process.

Panellists also discussed the need to improve customer understanding before a claim occurs. This included calls for clearer policy wording and concerns that some distribution models may reduce customer understanding of cover and policy limitations.

The wider view across discussions was that improving claims experiences depends not only on operational efficiency, but also on setting clearer expectations and supporting stronger communication throughout the customer journey – echoing sentiment shared throughout the entire conference.

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