We were interested to read the letters in Insurance Times on August 19 in response to “Who polices the schemes”.
This month a wholesale broker – “Preston Whiteside” – with whom we have traded for about five years, decided to cancel our facility and on the same day write to one of our clients whose policy was due for renewal. There was no reason for cancelling the facility and Mr Whiteside refuses to speak to us on the telephone. We are extremely disgusted with this conduct and I feel it only right that this is made public, as a warning to other retail brokers.
As members of BIIBA we are interested in their pursuit of a solution but as with broker/insurer agencies we doubt whether this sort of behaviour will be stopped. Insurance has become a battle for clients and “utmost good faith” is a thing of the past.
On a slightly different point, we can also confirm that, at this point in time, Albion is the only insurer with whom we deal that has an agency agreement in line with BIIBA recommendations, which protects us from a direct approach to our clients.
How many other brokers are out there who have been treated in this wayNULL Broking is tough enough at the moment without broking firms fighting each other dishonourably.
Ian D MacKintosh,
Barmac Insurance Consultants,
Harrow,
Middlesex,
HA2 9SZ.
