A long road ahead
Christopher McKevitt's article on net premiums (28 February Insurance Times) demonstrates the industry has a long way to go in a very short period of time if we are to bring ourselves to a point that will satisfy the SFA in terms of our controls and a satisfactory disclosure regime.
Like many brokers, I have been incensed for some time by the apparent and increasing weighting of the system against intermediaries when it comes to disclosure. If we end up with hard disclosure, a way must be found to make direct dealing insurers disclose and break down their costs of distribution and administration more clearly, so direct comparisons can be made with broker supporting insurers. If this is not done, customers will similarly be comparing apples with pears.
I respect Ken Wallace's view and support his suggestion that net rates may be the way forward. But I disagree that net rates are for the medium to longer term. The 100 plus brokers that use the brokersure.co.uk trading system have had access to net rates for more than a year for all motor insurance products.
The commission calculator built into the system enables the broker to choose an infinitely variable commission for every individual case. And the system then automatically accounts correctly for IPT and displays the correct gross premium on the documents. I very strongly believe this is the way forward for brokers who, as Tim Ablett suggests, need to be able to determine the commission they earn according to the complexity of the case and the amount of time they will have to spend administering it.
Send letters to Insurance Times, 30 Cannon Street, London, EC4M 6YJ or email to andy@instimes.co.uk or fax 020 7618 3499.
Insurance Times welcomes letters from readers on any subject. They should include the author's name and address (even if you request the details to be withheld), the company name and a contact telephone number in case of any queries. Insurance Times reserves the right to edit for space an house style and is not always able to publish all contributions.
Send letters to Insurance Times, 30 Cannon Street, London, EC4M 6YJ or email to andy@instimes.co.uk or fax 020 7618 3499.
Insurance Times welcomes letters from readers on any subject. They should include the author's name and address (even if you request the details to be withheld), the company name and a contact telephone number in case of any queries. Insurance Times reserves the right to edit for space an house style and is not always able to publish all contributions.
