The future of the Association of British Insurers was today called into question after one of its largest members quit to go it alone.
Legal & General said the interests of its shareholders and policyholders would be best served by cancelling its membership.
This comes just weeks after it called for the trade body to be “a more forward-looking organisation” in an interview with the Evening Standard.
Boss Nigel Wilson said: “Our public policy work increasingly involves sharing commercial aspects of our business with government, which, for very obvious reasons, not least competition law, we cannot share with competitors.
“We believe that increasingly engagement with government, regulators, quangos and other external bodies will be on a case-by-case basis going forward.”
The news is a blow to the ABI and its director-general Otto Thoresen at a time when the insurance industry faces huge regulatory and structural changes.
These include reforms in March’s Budget that overhauled the annuity market.
The ABI merged its investment affairs division with the Investment Management Association earlier this year.
Wilson added: “The ABI often concentrates, for understandable reasons, on the general insurance sector, where we have only limited business lines.”
Fellow insurer Admiral said today it had no plans to quit and Axa UK boss Paul Evans also expressed his support for the ABI.
Thoresen said: “Of course we are disappointed by the resignation of a member. However, the ABI’s continuing strong membership represents over 90% of the insurance sector.
“The board of the ABI believes the industry is at its most effective when working together.”
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