Opinion
PB Week: Wagons, wheels and automobiles
Katherine Brandon, reporter, Professional Broking
PB Week: Bridget, Peter and Martin
There has been plenty of late August and early September activity in the insurance market (and of course the football transfer market) and many will be returning from holiday catching up with the news, some shaking their heads in disbelief, writes Andrew…
CEO reveals fashion sense
Gossip from the industry
The technology train
I have noted a step change in the quality and presentation of brokers' websites in the last six mont...
The carrot and the stick
Many brokers feel that they are faced with a carrot-and-stick scenario when it comes to communicatin...
Tribunals - Achieving a fair hearing
An ex-employee, who claims that they were dismissed unfairly, took a close friend of mine to tribunal. As a broker owner, I want to ensure that disciplinary procedures are both correct and fair and that I steer clear of litigation. How do I ensure this?
Conflicts of interest - In your best interests
We have authority from some insurers to discount or match rates in order to secure business and I have been told that this should be declared in our conflicts-of-interest policy. Is this correct?
Confusing language is a barrier
I have just received another jargon-filled email from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) introdu...
Are you a profit driver or destroyer?
Insurers traditionally look carefully at their distributors when markets turn from soft to hard. Mos...
Bring home the business
Keith Wardell calls on brokers to consider which insurer partners are the safest - firms that are registered in the UK and come under the jurisdiction of the Financial Services Authority or offshore companies?
Childish behaviour will not win praise
It amused me to read about Broker Network's Grant Ellis threatening to take legal action against Our...
The hottest insurance gossip
It always brings a smile to Polly's face when she hears of insurers suffering the same accidents as ...
The future of fraud rests on teamwork
The Hertfordshire Police and the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) should be congratulated for the succes...
Editor's comment
In my opinion, the Which? Money report on comparison websites made very interesting reading. These s...
Be wary of standard fleet offerings
I read with interest the product review of Norwich Union's Fleetwise policy (Insurance Age, July, p5...
PB Week: Investment returns hit insurers' profits
Insurers have been benefiting from a growing economy where things could seemingly only go up, now many of them are being hit hard by their investment portfolios no matter how diverse, writes Andrew Tjaardstra, editor of Professional Broking magazine, the…
PB Week: Strategy, results and an opportunity
For those who are not on holiday at the moment, doesn't it seem like the rest of the world is, writes Andrew Tjaardstra, editor of Professional Broking in the latest PB Week . Poor weather, out of office e-mails and smug people returning from sunny…
PB Week: Cricket, Danger Mouse and Gordon Ramsay
The week begins on a Thursday evening according to this blog, so here is a brief summary of my last week, writes Andrew Tjaardstra, editor, Professional Broking .
PB Week: Where is our summer?
What do we have to do to get some sunshine these days? We spend all autumn, winter and spring waiting for a couple of weeks of unadulterated sunshine and so far in August we have been given humid, rainy, dark, damp days – perhaps one day an insurer will…
Care leave - Dependant decisions
A member of staff has informed me that she cannot come to work due to the health of her dependant. Do restrictions apply to the time that she is allowed off and am I required by law to pay her for that time? Also, should I be allowed a qualifying period…
Planes, pains and free events
Overheard can confirm that NU's chief executive Igal Mayer has now moved to London, an improvement o...
What is a good MGA model?
My short answer to the question in the headline is: expertise, systems, innovation and sales. In my...
Between a rock and a hard place
Being an insurance chief executive is not a fun job - just as one headache goes away, another three ...
Holding renewals - Terms of endearment
My customer terms of business document shows that I normally provide commercial quotations from a range of insurers, yet the Financial Services Authority has queried whether or not this is still accurate at policy renewal, when I recommend renewing with…