Leading Australian underwriters won’t be able to resist the temptation to follow their UK counterparts and buy brokerages, according to Calliden CEO Nick Kirk.

But other industry figures disagree, saying consumers are increasingly demanding independent insurance advisers.

Speaking at last week’s Australia and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) breakfast seminar in Melbourne, Mr Kirk said continuing consolidation of brokerages is inevitable as insurers eye distribution channels.

“Insurers will not be able to resist the temptation to buy brokers,” he said. “As soon as one buys one, the others will have to pile in to defend themselves.”

But Steadfast Executive Chairman Robert Kelly disagrees, saying the Australian market is unlikely to follow trends in the UK where independent brokers have been selling out to insurers, as well as to rapidly expanding consolidators.

“I don’t think there will be the same [development] in Australia,” Mr Kelly said. “We have a sophisticated [distribution] model in Australia… brokers will remain independent as long as consumers want to speak to someone.”

CGU CEO Duncan West says any move on the part of insurers to buy intermediaries will be “unsustainable”, with independent brokers likely to re-emerge as consumers demand advocacy. “The broker proposition is powerful for the customer,” Mr West said.