What a misguided and disillusioned soul that is Ben Davies (Letters, 20 April). Does he not realise that the insurance buying public will never revere insurance brokers in the same context as other 'professionals'.
As long as the relentless media drive of buying the cheapest insurance continues, there will be no change to this attitude.
Of course, there are a very small number of business minded people that have respect for the service provided by the broker, but the majority will buy purely on price. How many accountants, lawyers and doctors advertise their wares based purely on price?
The "you get what you pay for"argument does not stand either. We have had clients call us with problems they have had with cheaper alternative providers and assisted them in resolving the issues.
However, when we have quoted them through our panel at renewal and the premium is slightly higher, the majority will remain where they are, even though the service they received there was less than acceptable and only because the premium was cheaper.
Just like the compulsory regulation, no one asked the buyer what he wanted. We are now in month 16 since regulation and I still cannot find one client that is the least bit interested in the compliant information and additional paperwork provided.
Similarly, the public is really not interested in how much of the premium paid by them is kept by the broker as commission.
If the insurance buyer is faced with the following choices for the same risk, that is, £300 from one provider earning 30% commission and a premium of £330 from another provider earning 15% commission (large provider against high street broker respectively), does Mr Davies whole heartedly believe Joe Public will pay £330 just because the rate of commission is lower.
Wake up and accept the reality Mr Davies and leave commission disclosure well alone. After all, the only interested parties to disclosure are the interfering regulatory bodies.
Name & address withheld
