The UK insurance market is entering a new phase of regulatory change.
Government and regulators have been clear that the post-Brexit framework should be more proportionate, more competitive, and less burdened by unnecessary reporting.
In its Manifesto for 2026, BIBA calls for further simplification of the FCA handbook and a reduction in ad-hoc data requests, arguing that excessive compliance friction risks undermining growth and innovation.
It is an understandable ambition. The regulatory burden on intermediaries has increased materially over the last decade, even though brokers do not carry underwriting risk and are not systemically significant in the way banks are.
BIBA notes that the number of authorised general insurance intermediaries continues to fall, highlighting the operational strain across the sector.
But there is a potential misconception at the heart of this debate: simplification is not the same as deregulation. And a lighter rulebook does not automatically mean lighter accountability.
In fact, the direction of travel suggests the opposite: regulators may reduce prescriptive process but place greater emphasis on outcomes – and on firms being able to demonstrate, with evidence, that they are acting appropriately.
From Rules to Outcomes
Consumer Duty has already accelerated this shift. Rather than asking whether firms have followed a set checklist, the FCA is increasingly asking:
- Are customers receiving fair value?
- Are complaints being handled properly?
- Are distribution chains working as intended?
BIBA itself highlights fair value as an area where the industry needs greater consistency, calling for a standard template for fair value assessments and warning against firms “gold-plating” requirements unnecessarily.
Even while the industry is calling for simpler rules, expectations around governance and proof are increasing. As regulation becomes more focused on outcomes, boards, brokers and insurers will be judged more directly against the wider market.
One of the key questions will be: how do we perform compared with our peers?
That is true across multiple regulatory touchpoints:
- Complaints volumes and resolution rates
- Claims performance
- Conduct and fair value outcomes
- Financial resilience and underwriting discipline
- Broker and insurer service standards
Why resilience now requires visibility
Regulatory resilience is increasingly about market intelligence — knowing where you sit relative to peers.
The BIBA Manifesto theme of “economic resilience” reflects a broader reality: the market is facing more complex structural risk – cyber exposure, flood risk, claims inflation, and pressure on capacity.
In this environment, regulators will not simply ask whether firms are compliant. They will ask whether firms are robust, sustainable, and acting in the interests of customers – and whether the data supports that conclusion.
At Insurance DataLab, we believe the next phase of regulation will be defined by transparency.
Regulatory reform may reduce some of the operational friction in the market, but it will also raise expectations around proof.
The firms that thrive will be those that can benchmark their performance with credible, independent performance data, demonstrate partner oversight and governance, and support fair value with evidence, not just assumptions.
How Insurance DataLab can help
Insurance DataLab provides independent benchmarking to support fair value, partner oversight and regulatory resilience – covering everything from complaints and claims performance to underwriting results and financial strength.
If you’d like to see how the platform can support your business, you can request a demo here.