A representative body for insurance brokers has called on the Government to introduce legislation that will help protect consumers who buy financial services and products from solicitors and accountants.
The Professional Insurance Brokers Association (PIBA) made the call following an announcement by the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (IFSRA) that it is to extend consumer protection standards to insurance companies and other firms within the next month.
At the moment, insurance and investment intermediaries must comply with a comprehensive code of conduct, but the same regulations do not apply to the tied agents or direct salesforces of insurance companies and banks. The new codes will also apply to mortgage intermediaries and moneylenders.
The chairman of PIBA's legislation committee, Mr John Hogan, welcomed IFSRA's announcement but said there still wasn't a level playing pitch for providers of financial services.
Mr Hogan said there was a clear need for legislation to extend IFSRA's watchdog powers to accountants and solicitors who sell insurance and investment business. He called on the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, to address the issue in the second IFSRA bill.
A Department of Finance spokeswoman said the second IFSRA bill was due to be passed by the Dáil at the end of November. She said the bill did not include any changes to what had been set out last year.
Under the current rules, brokers are subject to statutory rules monitored by IFSRA, while accountants are exempt as long as the value of the investment business they write is 20 per cent or less of their annual turnover.
"If an accountant's turnover was €5 million, they could sell €1 million of insurance business and still escape regulation by IFSRA," Mr Diarmuid Kelly, PIBA's chief executive said.
