Mike is a judge at the UK Brokers' Awards which takes place in London in September and also a Judge at the Manchester Insurance Awards. The former is a national competition aiming to find the best in seventeen different categories. The latter a more intimate affair bringing out the cream of Manchester

The standard, as you would expect, is very high, and demonstrates how professional General Insurance is.

It shows something else as well. General Insurance plays a real and valuable place in UK plc as the main protector of property and life.

The benefit derived is protection.

Unlike the rest of financial services you end up (or that’s the intention) back where you started - you don't make a profit.

The rest of the Financial Service industry is based on the very dodgy idea that if you part with your money, someone will "invest" it and you will make a profit without having to do anything except run the risk of them losing it

This is of course just a form of gambling and to dress it up otherwise is deception. If GI requires people to worry about risk, in order to buy a policy, then Financial Services needs them to be motivated by reward.

I am not sure why there should be exams at all for investment advisers; you might as well have them for fortune tellers or bookies. Yes you are warned that shares may go up or down and that profits are not guaranteed – it speculation after all.]#

No one can predict the future. No one foresaw the financial crisis or the fall of the Berlin Wall. Two years ago I was hit by a Manchester tram –I didn’t see that coming either.

Here are the main details about what is coming:-

• A new body called the Consumer Protection and Markets Authority will take over the FSA's responsibility for protecting the consumer and regulating conduct.
• It will regulate the conduct of every financial service business, both retail and wholesale.

• It will have a strong mandate to make sure that financial services operate transparently, so that everyone – from someone buying car insurance to a trader at a large bank – can have confidence in their dealings, and know that they will get the protection they need if something goes wrong.
  

• Its aim will be to deliver the best possible protection for consumersand be a proactive consumer champion.
  
  

• It will be given a tougher, more proactive approach to regulating conduct and its main aim will be to promote confidence in financial services.
  

• It will take over the FSA's responsibility for the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)
  

• It will also have responsibility for the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.(FSCS).
  

• It will oversee the Consumer Financial Education Body (CFEB).

• Before it is set up there we will be a full consultation process and a policy document will be published within the next six weeks

During the period of transition to the new regime, the Government will try to ensure the following:-

• That uncertainty is minimised and transitional costs for firms kept as low as possible

• That the current standard of focused regulation will continue until the CPMA takes over

• That the move is swift, but with proper consultation and clarity for the FSA staff affected during transition.

• That the law enacting will be passed within the next two years.

Latest News

If Labour wins the next election, winter will be abolished.
"Labour voters are mainly very old people, and may not survive another cold spell" the PM said “We will abolish all of winter, except for the Christmas period, but we will maintain the gathering winter fuel allowance"
“Trust me am a life- long socialist and understand the working class,” said Baron Mandelson of Foy and Hartlepool, (First Secretary of State, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, President of the Board of Trade and Lord President of the Council)

Tories to extend summer?

Lord Snooty announced today that the Labour plans for abolishing Christmas were even sillier than the ones the Liberal hadn't yet invented. "We will extend summer until the middle of December", he announced "and next year there will be two Christmas Days instead of the usual one. “We need to support rampant commercialism”, he thought but didn’t say.

Liberals to abolish weather

The Lib-Dems went one step further at their conference at Stonehenge and announced they would abolish weather by stabilising global warming and inviting Gaia, the goddess of Mother Earth to share power with all her creatures.

Pensioners returns from Spain on a Pedallo

Volcano-struck Britain was cheered today to hear that crisis-struck Britains responded with the Dunkirk spirit and hired a fleet of pedallos in Benidorm and pedalled all the way home. Sharon, a thirty year old single grandma from Manchester broke down in tears as she sold her story.

Other headline today

§ Labour to abolish Volcanos
§ Tories to scrap earthquakes
§ Lib-Dems to introduce free green vegetables for all
§ God quits Catholic Church over scandal
§ SNP to continue to be run by smug Scotsman
§ Plaid Cymru said “ni pawb ddisgwyl yr un”


Please note the following correction
We mistakenly said that Tony Blair had earned £6 million since he left the trough, the correct figure is of course £6 Billion

It looks as if the problems with Quinn arose from financial dealings in the Republic of Ireland, and to its credit the Irish regulator seems to have moved quickly and firmly to try to bring the matter under control.

There is however a much bigger problem? Does anyone know what would happen if an Insurer passported in to the UK (entry by the back door) couldn't pay its bills?

What is the level of compensation? How do you find out if they have "topped up" into the UK FSCS? You can't find out easily. Is there a public register? The FSA website is useless on this and FSCS not much help either.

The FSA say "Consumers considering or currently doing business with an EEA firm ('EEA Authorised'), may wish to ask for further information from the firm or its UK branch about its complaints and compensation arrangements. This is because the position may differ compared to a UK authorised firm"

This leads to a much greater problem - due diligence by brokers and point of sale disclosures -I will return to this later.

Unless you have been away for a long stretch you will know that it is an election year and this is marked by increasing desperation by the dodgy people we have elected to govern us.

The latest evidence is the recent proposal that all dog owners will have to insure against injury to Third Parties.

Yes, every dog owner (8 millions of them), will have to do this so, that the dodgy characters with pit-bull terriers can stop them biting us.  It’s a nonsense and shows how tired politics has become.

It would have made better sense if the Government had insured the economy against falling down a drain. Or our pensions against a melt down.

Only the law abiding will take any notice, and the criminal classes and the great unwashed will continue as before, or get the social to pay the bill.

A much easier solution is to put a small tax on dog food – 1p tax would raise approx £25 million which ought to be sufficient to set up the equivalent of the Motor Insurers Bureau... For dogs