Brokers will meet tomorrow at The Knowledge Live to discuss whether regulation is helping or hindering UK brokers

The majority of brokers believe that regulation has improved or stayed the same since the introduction of the FCA in April 2013, according to an exclusive survey from Insurance Times.

The news comes ahead of the first Insurance Times Knowledge Live event where brokers will gather in London on Wednesday to discuss regulation and whether it has helped or hindered brokers in the UK.

Almost one-third (31%) of brokers who responded to the survey said that regulation had improved since the new regulator took over, while only 16% said they felt regulation had got worse (see chart below).

How has regulation changed under the FCA?

Brokers seemed pleased that the FCA was taking time to understand how brokers’ businesses worked in the real world.

One respondent to the survey said: “They appear to want to better understand how brokers operate. From the limited contact we have had so far I feel that we have a stronger relationship than with the FSA.”

However, not everyone agreed that regulation had improved since the introduction of the FCA.

One respondent described the FCA as “disruptive, unhelpful and time consuming” and said “the vast majority of [compliance issues] appear to be unnecessary and inapplicable to our trading platform”.

The Knowledge Live

“2014: A year for regulatory change” is the headline topic for the first Insurance Times Knowledge Live event for 2014. The event will discuss some of the key regulatory changes on the horizon and how these will affect brokers.

The half-day event will incorporate presentations on the new client money rules, and the implications of the various FCA probes into brokers. It will also feature a panel discussion by industry experts who will debate whether regulatory change is helping or hindering brokers’ business.

Confirmed panellists:

  • Steve White, chief executive, Biba
  • Gary Duggan, chief executive, Broker Network
  • Terence Clark, compliance director, RWA Compliance
    Services
  • Stuart Reid, executive chairman, Bluefin