The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has promised that members will provide brokers with 21 days’ notice of their renewal terms for employers’ and public liability cover. It’s the major part of a new “Statement of Good Intentions” agreed by the ABI and the British Insurance Brokers' Association.

The statement is intended to reassure insurance-buyers that they will have time to budget for higher premiums or “shop around” for cheaper liability cover.

The move has been praised by the Government, which is facing increasing calls from the insurance industry to do something about the rising cost of claims, which have trebled since 1996.

The ABI says it wants action to reduce the impact of rising legal costs; reform to the funding of claims for long-tail occupational diseases like asbestos; improved information on health and safety; and greater use of rehabilitation and “return to work” schemes.