Insurance customers are increasing the amount they borrow so they can continue to afford cover as the COVID-19 crisis squeezes household finances, new research1 from the UK’s leading premium finance company, Premium Credit, shows. Premium Credit’s research found that over the past year, 16% of people have borrowed more to help pay for their insurance cover, compared to 6% who have taken on less credit or the same amount. Of those people using credit, on average they have borrowed £598 extra over the previous year to pay for their insurance needs, Premium Credit’s Insurance Index study found.

As BIBA’s only accredited Insurance Premium Finance provider, Premium Credit continues to support its broker partners and their customers during these unprecedented times. During the 2021 Virtual Conference we look forward to outlining our latest, award winning premium finance solutions. In a time when strong cash flow is critical, premium finance provides increased access to valuable insurance cover at the right level, at the right time and in an affordable manner. Premium finance takes away the need for brokers’ customers to pay for cover in one large lump sum, allowing them to spread the cost of annual insurance premiums over convenient monthly payments, freeing up cash so it can be spent in other important areas.

Invoices to meet the £78 million supplementary levy to cover compensation costs for the Life Distribution and Investment Intermediation class are now being sent to regulated firms by The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS is helping smaller firms (with a supplementary levy bill of less than £10k), by giving them 90 days to pay, with all other firms having 30 days to pay the levy. Businesses wishing to pay the levy in instalments can do so by partnering with a specialist provider. We predict that increasing numbers will consider spreading the cost.

Having retained the BSI (British Standards Institute) ISO 22301 certification Premium Credit can verify its maintenance of an effective BCMS {Business Continuity Management System}. The award has been made following the business’ ongoing ability to meet the BSI’s exacting criteria to protect against, reduce the likelihood of, and ensure its business operations can recover from a wide variety of disruptive incidents.

Premium Credit, the UK and Ireland’s leading insurance premium finance provider, has become an Airmic Marketplace Partner. Premium Credit’s new partnership will give Airmic members, those with responsibility for risk management and insurance within their organisations, a one stop shop to spread the cost of annual insurance premiums into convenient monthly payments. Members will be provided with access to award winning premium finance solutions supported by market-leading technology, a dedicated account management team, CPD-accredited training and insightful data on market trends and payment methods.

Premium Credit is pleased to announce recertification of its Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). PCI DSS is an evolving information security standard created by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) providing a unified approach to how payment card data should be protected during its lifecycle. Through this ongoing accreditation, Premium Credit has formerly been recognised as a company demonstrating that payment card data is handled securely on behalf of its partners and their customers.