The Queen's Speech is an important part of the Westminster calendar

The 2009 Queen’s Speech raised several issues in which the British insurance industry has a strong interest. Whilst the ABI wholeheartedly supports calls to improve the public’s understanding of financial services, other areas of the speech set alarm bells ringing throughout the industry. We recognise the need for legislation, but we are not convinced that the state is better placed to govern salaries than the market.

Changes to the FSA’s power on consumer redress are being rushed through without adequate consultation – these measures are of great importance and require serious scrutiny before they are introduced. And we believe that the move towards court-based collective redress would create costs for consumers and businesses which will outweigh the benefits it would provide.

The insurance industry urges the Government to co-operate with the private sector over its plans for reform of the long-term care system. It is regrettable that the Personal Care at Home Bill contradicts the Social Care Green Paper, published only a few months ago.

The Government should take heed of its own Insurance Industry Working Group report, which recommended the development of a partnership with the insurance industry to solve the problem of long-term care provision in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

Finally, the problem of flooding has been highlighted again this week with heavy rain and extensive floods in the north of England, so we were pleased to see the introduction of the Flood and Water Management Bill.

We have long campaigned for this Bill to come into force, and we believe it should be fast-tracked into legislation in order that proper long-term provision of flood prevention measures can be introduced.

Tags: executive pay, flooding, Insurance, insurance - home, long-term care