Bronek Masojada, the chief executive of Hiscox has called for a separate trade body to represent the interests of general insurance from those of the life and savings sector.
He told the panel and delegates at the British Insurance Summit that it was important the government viewed recent complaint figures - including payment protection insurance - from the Financial Ombudsman Service as more than simply an "insurance problem".
"More than half of those complaints came from banks. They don't see that as a banking issue, they see that as an insurance issue. We think we should separate the Association of British Insurers into a life and savings industry body, and a general insurance one. I don't think that's controversial at all."
Chartered Insurance Institute chief executive Sandy Scott added the general insurance industry "must do better" in order to distinguish itself from the life and banking sectors when it came to future regulation.
Dr Scott said: "The Treasury will say that insurance had a good crisis 'this time'.
"But they will include life - which came close to catastrophe in 2008 and 2009. Getting the general insurance voice heard with the government is important."
