Intermediaries

We audit over 20 FSA regulated insurance intermediaries ranging in size from £750k to £20m commission income. Our broking team is highly active in the market, having representation on the ICAEW Insurance Sub Committee and has been consulted by the FSA on issues relating to the new regulations affecting brokers. We spend a very considerable amount of time keeping up to date with the new regulations and developments in the market generally, and meeting people in the market to gauge how the various changes affect businesses at the practical level.

Case studies

New start up

We were asked to assist a leading corporate finance team with the setup and FSA application of a new underwriting agent. The entity was due to transact £50m premium in its first year and make a significant impact on the market they operated in. We arranged consultation with the FSA and provided support in all financial aspects of the application including financial projections and business plan.

Risks and controls documentation

As part of the interim audit for one of our brokers we carried out a detailed exercise of documenting systems and controls. This helped us get to know our client better and also gave added focus to audit – we cut out a layer of work and got to problem areas quickly. Our work was also used by the client as part of their DRP submission to the FSA and continues to provide a framework to highlight issues to the audit committee and board.

Acquisition support

We are currently working with a broker client who is trying to acquire one of their producing brokers. Negotiations had stopped between the parties due to misunderstanding and lack of clarity. We were engaged as an “honest broker” to present the deal in a clear and concise manner to the target in order to get things moving again. We have done this and we are now happy that the deal will proceed and that we have helped to conceive a fair transaction that should give both sides what they want.