Once again you publish an article (4 March, Insurance Times) bashing underwriting agencies. This follows the Andrew Paddick tirade that you published several weeks ago.
The experience quoted by Ellis, I accept, is disgraceful and should not happen. However, you must question the wisdom of a broker returning funds to his client before he has been refunded by the insurer (or wholesaler) - I wonder which account the refund was paid from? The client account using another client's money I would guess.
By not naming the "small underwriting agency", Ellis is not helping to stamp out these kind of unacceptable practices.
Not all brokers are blameless either. Many are guilty of refusing to pay accounts, usually on the excuse that the premium is "not yet collected" - they commit us to providing cover when they haven't collected payment, then expect us to provide the free credit.
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