One of the main compliance issues that insurance brokers faced in 2013 was staying up-to-date with changes in technology, the law and the market.
HR and Compliance consultancy
Gold Seal carried out a variety of compliance audits for 150 companies across the country. Other compliance bugbears were ensuring that what happens in practice within the business reflects the documented policies and procedures; obtaining and keeping excellent staff and managing those who are not so excellent; and trying to maintain the balance between compliance best practice and operating a profitable business.
Similarly, over 500 insurance intermediaries contacted Gold Seal for support on HR issues last year and the company. The top HR issues facing intermediaries in 2013 were employee Leave – (annual, long service, personal/carers, parental and bereavement), termination, contracts of employment, performance management, and redundancy.
Sheila Baker, managing director of Gold Seal, said: “Questions about termination and making employees redundant point to the fact there is a lot of volatility in the insurance workforce at the moment. Intermediaries are spending a lot of time and effort trying to get their workforce to align with the goals of the business. This is backed up by the compliance audit findings that companies are finding it challenging to obtain, develop and maintain an effective workforce.”
She added “Looking forward to 2014, we see the next biggest challenge for the insurance industry is how it understands, and complies with, the new Privacy obligations coming into effect in March. In particular, around what information organisations hold, where is it kept, who has access to it and who it is given to.”
