NIBA CEO Noel Pettersen has defended the reputation of brokers against a seemingly endless stream of negative media releases coming from ASIC. Pointing out that all but a very few of the brokerages affected by ASIC action aren’t actually NIBA members, Mr Pettersen said the professionalism of brokers remains of paramount importance to business in Australia.

“NIBA members are Qualified Practising Insurance Brokers, which denotes the highest standards of knowledge and professionalism in their dealings with clients,” he said. “It’s disappointing that all brokers are portrayed in a bad light by ASIC’s present campaign to stamp out the bad practices of a very few people operating as insurance intermediaries.”

While he accepts that the ASIC activity – and the plethora of media releases that accompany it – are necessary to ensure brokers retain their credibility with consumers, Mr Pettersen regretted the “possible negative impacts on brokers in the short term/”

“While most industry professionals understand that the brokers being targeted by ASIC are only a very few of the 1242 registered general insurance brokers and 194 life brokers operating in Australia, NIBA members have a right to be concerned that they will be tarred with the same brush.”