Zurich General Insurance has called for the professionalism shown by general insurance brokers during the summer’s disasters to be recognised.

The company says the lack of recognition is one of the major findings from a Zurich national roadshow that ran a fictional “royal commission into natural disasters”.

A total of more than 1000 brokers attended the roadshow, which was established with the aim of learning more about the lessons gained from the floods and Cyclone Yasi.

Zurich Head of Customer and Product Proposition Nick Cook says brokers need to ensure their services are clearly recognised by their customers or they will face increased regulation.

“If brokers are to be seen as more than ‘order-takers’ they must ensure they are positioned as trusted advisers for their customers,” he said.