Newly appointed Institute of Insurance Brokers (IIB) CEO Barbara Bradshaw says the association is considering an amalgamation with larger rival the British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA).

Ms Bradshaw says discussions had begun over the formation of a new organisation before last month's untimely death of her predecessor, Andrew Paddick.

"Andrew had thought for a while that with all the mergers and acquisitions taking place, eventually there would only be room for one association," Ms Bradshaw told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

But she denies reports in the UK trade press a merger is on the cards.

"He wanted that association to be a new one, not a merger," Ms Bradshaw said. "We had started talks with BIBA about how we could work together at this stage - nothing more."

She says the IIB remains committed to representing small and medium-sized brokers.

The IIB represents 1100 mainly small brokers, while BIBA has more than 2000 members.