General insurance intermediaries need to ensure they are authorised by the FSA by October 2004 at the latest, John Tiner warned today.
Tiner, who is managing director of the Financial Services Authority's (FSA) consumer investment and insurance directorate, was speaking at a Insurance Institute of London lecture in the Lloyd's Old Library.
He said the target date for the system to "go live" with all intermediaries authorised is October 2004 and said there is a lot of work to be done in time for that.
"If intermediaries are not authorised by October 2004 they will be trading illegally - there is no transition period," he said.
Tiner said that general principles likely to be inherent in the new regulation`regime' would be that rules set are proportionate to the risks the FSA is mitigating against, that the FSA does not impede innovation and competition, that the responsibilities of senior management are emphasised and that resources are used efficiently.
But he emphasised the FSA is not trying to create a "nanny state" for consumers, but was working towards helping them make fully informed decisions.
He said: "What does this mean? Not that we will copy the regime set up for investment business for insurance business. It will not be a single, one size fits all regime."
Tiner said it is impossible to work out how many firms the FSA will be dealing with, but said the best estimate now is between 35,000 and 45,000, including mortgage intermediaries.
He advised intermediaries not to panic, but recommended taking constructive steps including responding to the Treasury's consultation paper with any concerns and thinking about business standards and structure.
He also advised all companies to buy a computer as the GISC estimates that more than 1,000 of its members do not have them yet.
Tiner also said some companies might consider joining self regulatory bodies like GISC until October 2004, as it might might the transition smoother.
