Insurance companies are not known for being fleet of foot but the industry is having to catch up with the fact that customers often no longer need long-term cover in an economy where goods are rented rather than owned.
Three years ago, executives from the industry were called into 10 Downing Street to see David Cameron, then UK prime minister, who was concerned that a lack of insurance cover was holding back new rental-based business models.
Graeme Trudgill, chief executive of the British Insurance Brokers’ Association, which chaired the meeting, said that from an insurance perspective there were very different risks attached to renting compared with ownership — and that insurers did not have much data about these.