Fledgling software house New Millennium Technologies suffered a major setback this week when several brokers criticised the software house's core system, Premier Plus.
Key complaints from brokers include the time it takes Premier Plus to complete reports.
Others have also hit out at the time it takes to resume workflow when using the package, more than 15 seconds to enter vital screens.
Anne Pluckrose a partner at Mayland Insurance Services in Essex said: “For certain functionality there is a large delay. We have been told that new hardware will cut this down and I hope it will.”
Pluckrose said she is assessing packages from rival software houses, but so far has not been impressed by them.
“The worst thing is the time it takes to do reports,” another broker said.
“It can take hours to complete some and then print them.”
Other criticisms include the fact the system cannot produce invoices or generate finance arrangements for policyholders.
The claims are a set back to NMT but also to Ockham, the holding company that has put up the vast majority of the software house's capital.
Ockham has already invested around £4m in NMT – convertible loan stock which can give Ockham an 84% stake in the software house.
But NMT hit out at the criticisms. Marketing director Jacquie Boast said: “A lot depends on the memory and performance of the brokers' machines.
“Our software has moved on dramatically but you can't please all the people all the time. Not all brokers have invested in the memory and hardware necessary to keep up.
“We have to keep up with what Microsoft are doing and brokers have keep up with us.”
Brokers and insurers also sprang to NMT's defence. John Fox from Bevan Fox claimed that NMT has been successful in resolving problems with the system.
“The system has taken a long time to develop, longer than we would have hoped to get to a position where we would want to use it. But it is virtually there. It is a system that is light years ahead of everything else.”
