Royal & SunAlliance General Insurance CEO Duncan West has been feeling the heat from brokers over the past couple of weeks, following criticism of their abilities by the GM of a subsidiary company.

Mike Hooton, GM of direct selling operation Australian Better Business Insurance (ABBi), said brokers have “failed to deliver for small business”. Mr Hooton’s company is part of R&SA’s Australian Alliance arm, which might have been seen in this world of multi-channel distribution systems to be sufficiently distant from head office. Alas for him, that’s not the case. Reports suggest that Mr West has taken a clobbering from brokers upset that R&SA seems to want to have it both ways.

Mr West said in a conciliatory statement yesterday that “there is no doubt that we believe brokers add value for many people seeking general insurance solutions. As such our general insurance division is 100% dedicated to servicing intermediaries’ needs.”

Noting that in a large multi-branded organisation like R&SA, target markets are differentiated, he said that over the past few years “there has been an increase in the use of brokers in placing customers’ general insurance needs”.

“That certainly demonstrates consumers are recognising the value that professional brokers bring to the insurance relationship. Customer advocacy, conditions and price comparisons, claims service and advice, as well as the current challenges of finding markets for some… clients are just some of the benefits that consumers find with brokers.”

Repeating his company’s overall commitment to “the intermediated market”, Mr West noted the development of such services as its Enterprise operation as evidence.

While ABBi and Mr Hooton weren’t mentioned in Mr West’s statement of support for brokers, we’d be prepared to put money on one thing: Mr Hooton’s future media releases won’t criticise brokers.