Reforms to a key piece of insurance legislation have been delayed by Brexit taking up too much Parliamentary time, an MP said.
Reforms to Pool Re, the insurance mechanism that protects business that suffer from terrorist attacks, are only now going through Parliament, two-and-a-half years after they were first pushed for.
Read more: Motor insurers to share terrorism risk after 2017 London vehicle attacks
Neil Coyle the Labour MP whose constituency includes London Bridge and Borough Market, said that what he nicknamed “Neglexit” had slowed the process of the legislative reform.
“Everything is focused on Brexit, there is very little domestic legislation,” he said.
The reforms to Pool Re will mean it covers business interruption, not just property damage, something that would have greatly benefited the traders at Borough Market following the London Bridge terror attack.
“If the government had acted in time some of my constituents who were affected by the London Bridge attack would have been covered by Pool,” he said.
Other key reforms have also been slow to make their way through Parliament, including the Civil Liability Bill, while other mooted changes such as the pensions dashboard are currently under threat of the axe.
Read more: It would be crazy to ditch the pensions dashboard – here's why
Head of UK corporate affairs at insurer Zurich Sophie Timms said: “The government has a lot on its plate at the moment, and obviously some very important steps yet to take in our exit from the European Union. But there are important and positive aspects of regular domestic legislation which still need focus – and unfortunately it seems that some are either being put on a back-burner or being shelved altogether.”
Although industry body the Association of British Insurers said it was “pleased” with the progress of the bill through parliament, the instability of the government could mean that it does not reach the statute book.
There have been 37 bills introduced in this session of Parliament, including six Brexit bills. Twenty three bills have been sent for royal assent.
Mark Hemsted an insurance partner at law firm Clyde & Co said: “Were there to be government change then every single bill in the current list in parliament would be adversely affected. One can never say what will happen, whether this government will proceed in its current form, or whether Brexit will affect it so much they have to go back the country”.
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