We are a small family-run broker and with the increased costs of FSA regulation looming, we have recently introduced small charges to customers (previously we made none), and have advertised these with A4 enclosures included with the renewal documentation.
A customer rang to renew his policy by credit card and I dutifully reminded him of the new charges. He was surprised by them, so I referred to the aforementioned enclosures. He replied: "Oh, I never read enclosures with bills, I just bin them." He then cited the number received together with utility bills, credit cards etc.
The customer in question was not someone who could be labelled careless or apathetic, but is a local businessman and politician.
We are not against regulation, but you can only do so much.
How can we be expected to effectively make customers aware of their rights if items posted to them end up in a landfill site the next day?
Mark Bartlett
Greenman Insurance Brokers
Letters intended for publication should be sent to: Insurance Times, 30 Cannon Street, London, EC4M 6YJ, or email to
andy@instimes.co.uk or fax : 020 7618 3499
