The success of the British International Freight Association (BIFA) on the Insurance Mediation Directive is now complete with the UK government agreeing that freight forwarding and its associated activities will be removed from the scope of the directive altogether.

Peter Quantrill, BIFA Director General, comments: “The key word here is ‘altogether’. In 2007, we celebrated that the Insurance Mediation Directive (IMD) Exemption for freight forwarders had come into force, enabling freight forwarders to extend their open cover policy without the need to register with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in order to provide insurance to their customers.

“However, the exemption granted in 2007 was only relevant in those instances when insurance was sold to commercial customers, i.e. trading companies that would be moving cargo for business and profit-making reasons.

“Those forwarders which offered to sell insurance to so-called retail customers, for example private individuals emigrating and shipping personal effects abroad, were still required to be registered with the FSA.

“Now the retail customer comes under the exemption like the commercial customer, the cost and administrative burden to our members of these regulations is lifted, which is especially good in these straitened times.”

In 2007, BIFA decided to continue its campaign to gain a full exemption from the directive for members and is very pleased that its role as a campaigning group for the freight forwarder community has delivered. This success in creating a full exemption means BIFA’s members can avoid the expense and headache of registering with the FSA.

Forwarders must accept certain obligations, including adopting the BIFA Code of Practice and signing-up to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

The British International Freight Association (BIFA) represents UK companies engaged in the international movement of freight by all modes of transport. A not-for-profit organisation, BIFA is funded by subscription and run by its members for members. It operates with a full-time Secretariat, which administers and manages the Association’s affairs. BIFA provides an effective and proactive organisation dedicated to improving standards of professionalism within the logistics and supply chain industry.

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This release was published on openPR.