Brexit is like leaving a ‘bad marriage’ – UK broker
Brexit would be good news for the UK insurance industry, according to Alexander Miller Insurance Brokers.
Managing director Melanie Hampton was one of 110 business leaders who signed a letter opposing staying in the EU ahead of the national referendum on 23 June.
Speaking to Insurance Age, she said, ‘The insurance industry is incredibly well developed and has been, if not the leading market in the world, then certainly near it. Independence to carry on doing what we do well is what we should be trying to achieve.’
Melanie cited increasing regulation as a reason to leave, adding that fluctuations in the market were not necessarily a result of uncertainty caused by the referendum.
She explained, ‘We’ve got a very difficult global trading, we’ve had oil prices that hit the deck and they’re going up, we’ve got the Chinese economy not growing as fast as it should – there are all sorts of things causing fluctuation in our market.
‘Saying it’s a terrible fear of Brexit, I’m not sure if you dig down into the detail that that is the reality.’
She concluded, ‘I think the challenges are perceived. You’ve been in a bad marriage for a long time and you know you should go but you haven’t really got the balls to go.
‘There comes a point where you have to leave because you can’t bear it anymore and you know the kids are going to be a bit upset, but actually the freedom you get thereafter makes life so much more bearable.
‘We shouldn’t do ourselves down. The British people are much braver than that. Let’s stand on our own two feet and be the fantastic trading nation we are.’
