Michael Bright, the sacked founder and CEO of collapsed British insurer Independent, personally brokered the company’s reinsurance program, according to British industry newspaper Insurance Times.

While CEOs are always interested in the overall picture of their companies’ reinsurance programs, the newspaper said Mr Knight’s level of involvement in the negotiations was “unusual”. He was sacked by his board “without compensation” when the directors discovered the existence of the reinsurance contracts.

The Insurance Times said Aon broked Independent’s excess of loss reinsurance, but Mr Bright himself dealt directly with the insurers. The deals started in 1997 and were renewed in consecutive years. The Insurance Times quoted a source saying the manner of Mr Bright’s involvement in the contract negotiations is “very uncommon. It involves a lot of travel, meetings, negotiations – that’s what you pay your broker for.”