The Financial Services Authority's announcement that it will take over the regulation of insurance brokers has been met with trepidation by the industry.
Topaz Insurance Services broker Richard Mik ...
The Financial Services Authority's announcement that it will take over the regulation of insurance brokers has been met with trepidation by the industry.
Topaz Insurance Services broker Richard Mikula said: "I wonder if we are going to get our money back? The insurance industry has spent a fortune on joining fees and changing their stationery and websites to include the GISC name.
"It will be good to be regulated by an independent body but whether the FSA is the right body to do it, I don't know."
But the chairman of the regional broker Beckett Group, Bob Beckett said brokers only had themselves to blame for losing the opportunity to be self-regulated.
"The wrangling has meant the risk of the government losing patience," he said.
"This is yet another example of the industry not getting its act together and we get what we deserve."
He added that the cost of compliance with the FSA could force some brokers to "sell up or get out".
Smart and Cook group managing director Paul Meehan said the FSA's move would have a negative effect on small brokers.
