86. Memorandum submitted by the Association
of British Insurers
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) is
the trade association for the UK's insurance industry. We represent
around 400 members.
The insurance industry is committed to improving
risk management and promoting health and safety standards. The
ABI therefore welcomes the proposed Corporate Manslaughter Bill
given its aim to drive up standards further by ensuring accountability
and responsibility at a senior level within organisations.
As you may be aware, it is standard insurance
industry practice for relevant insurance products to include cover
against the legal costs of defending prosecutions and we would
expect the market to offer similar cover against the risk of being
prosecuted if this proposed Bill becomes law. The industry would
not provide indemnity for any penalties if the prosecution is
successful as that would undermine public policy objectives. We
do not anticipate that this proposed new offence would have a
substantial impact on the price of relevant insurance products,
such as employers' liability insurance, as the financial impact
is likely to be minimal across the economy.
20 June 2005
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