By the time you read this newsletter, the UK may already have its new government. Whichever party wins, it must continue the process of negotiating Britain’s exit from the European Union, widely known as Brexit.

The deadline for Britain’s departure is March 2019. Between now and then will be a period of continuing uncertainty for all continental European companies who do business with the UK, or those from other parts of the world who use the UK as a gateway into the rest of the EU.

Overall, the role of the risk manager will be to support the implementation of appropriate measures and ensure, for example, that the usual risk management criteria apply to new contracts, even if they are with a different subsidiary of the same company.

For risk managers who are responsible for their company’s insurance programmes, there will be a closer involvement. The London Market is an important source of capacity, especially for specialised risks, for many European businesses. As the CEO of the International Underwriting Association, Dave Matcham explains in our Expert view a new trade agreement between the UK and EU will be by far the best outcome to the Brexit negotiations for the London Market to continue providing uninterrupted cover to clients across the continent.

Considerable uncertainty remains over such a trade deal, however. In the meantime, FERMA members are happy to see that insurers want to continue to serve them and are anticipating possible scenarios, for example by setting up offices in other EU jurisdictions.

FERMA is closely monitoring the developments at European level and Brexit negotiations. We consider it a priority to keep our members informed.

Jo Willaert

President of FERMA