The British Insurance Brokers Association has warned the authorities not to impose 'additional costs and additional requirements' onto the industry.
Bringing in a large amount of new regulation for the insurance industry would be a mistake, according to the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA).
City watchdog the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has unveiled plans which will see stricter rules imposed on the financial industry in the UK. The organisation has made the move in an effort to prevent the failures which resulted in the economic downturn from happening in future.
However, BIBA chief executive Eric Galbraith explained that the insurance industry is "the lowest risk area" for regulators and that it thrives on innovation and competition.
"[The FSA] have had four-and-a-half-years in which to make sure regulation is that way," Mr Galbraith told attendees at the annual BIBA conference in Manchester. "Don't start imposing additional costs and additional requirements on us, because other people are going to leave our sector and its going to diminish the value that's really within the whole regulatory side."
Mr Galbraith also warned that the insurance sector is "really part of the DNA of business". He said that the government must "value [the industry] and help us maintain our position nationally and internationally in the market".
The BIBA comments are backed up by a report from the Financial Services Global Competitiveness Group, which said new regulation is needed which "appropriately distinguishes between different parts of the financial services sector".
