Biba to produce sharing economy insurance guide

Biba will publish an insurance guide for the sharing economy that helps businesses find out where to get insurance and the common risks they need to consider.

The publication, to be published in the late autumn, will be the first output of a new working group of representatives from the sharing economy and the insurance industry who are trying to develop insurance solutions to help the industry’s growth.

The group met for the second time last week at the ABI to discuss the challenges of insuring the sharing sector. Insurance sector representatives included Bluefin, Biba, the ABI, AXA, Ageas, Towers Watson and Canopius.

Working group chairman and Bluefin executive chairman Stuart Reid said: “The guide will identify how sharing companies can make risks more insurable, and help brokers understand the nature of those risks and potential solutions.

“The meeting was productive, but we must recognise the significant challenges that sharing companies and other products of the rapidly growing digital economy create for a highly regarded, traditional industry like insurance.”

At the meeting, the group was given a presentation by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) that projected that revenues in five key sharing economy sectors could grow from about £500m in the UK in 2013 to £9bn by 2025.

New attendees at the session also included BlaBlaCar, the biggest ride sharing company in Europe. The French-based company has found it more difficult to enter the UK than Germany or France, with insurance just one of a range of entry barriers.