‘This company has got a moral compass,” says consolidator boss Brendan McManus
PIB has put in place a whistleblowing policy so that employees can flag anything that may raise regulatory or other problems.
The consolidator is keen to avoid the kind of placement scandal that rocked Bluefin late last year, according to chief executive Brendan McManus (pictured).
“We put in a whistleblowing policy last year so that anybody who feels that they are being influenced not to do the right thing can blow the whistle and come straight to me,” McManus told Insurance Times in an exclusive interview.
“I believe this company has got a moral compass and if we do the right things by our clients, we’ll keep them. Keep the revenue, and then you’ve got the ability to grow.”
PIB maintains the separate brands and identities of the brokers, MGAs, and Lloyd’s wholesalers that it acquires. Earlier this month it acquired Lorica, its 13th acquisition in less than two years.
“We integrate all the finance processes, and I mean within the first quarter of acquiring the businesses. We integrate HR, we integrate technology, we integrate risk compliance,” McManus said.
“Now, what we don’t do, is force people into placement zones or underwriting zones, or anything like that.
“So we leave people to run their business, to deal with their clients, get new clients and place the business in the market in a way they’ve done pretty traditionally.
“I think a mistake that has been made in the past is that they’ve forced people to use particular markets. The account execs feel uncomfortable about that and move on.”
PIB has bought both brokers and MGAs, so an independent placement strategy is crucial to remaining FCA compliant, especially in light of the Bluefin scandal.
The FCA fined Bluefin for pressuring its brokers to place business where the commissions and rewards were highest, instead of what was right for the customer.
But McManus believes as long as you are up front with the FCA, they are fine to work with.
The door is open to his office for any PIB employee who believes they are being unduly pressured.
“I believe this company has got a moral compass and if we do the right things by our clients, we’ll keep them. Keep the revenue, and then you’ve got the ability to grow.”
No comments yet