At the recent National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) AGM, held on the second day of the Mortgage Business Expo, the NACFB and the board of directors put forward the plans for the Association in 2010. Adam Tyler, chief executive of the NACFB, revealed it was in talks with market leaders and household names, including firms such as Towergate and Legal and General, to offer the service which will be piloted in the New Year.
NACFB members will be unable to offer advice or make any recommendations (unless, of course they are FSA regulated to be able to provide this kind of service) but they will be able to provide an introduction to a firm that can. Until a member has undertaken training offered by the NACFB, the facility to offer business to these suppliers will remain switched off. Training will be run around the UK for brokers to attend and once they have satisfied the NACFB that they understand the limits of how FSA regulation allows them to operate, they will be able to press a button to submit their clients’ details, via CommercialKeeper, to the insurance company to be able to provide a quote.
Commenting, Adam Tyler said: “Some members, obviously, will already be able to provide these services to their clients and, if that is the case, they are by no means obliged to have to offer them through the NACFB’s system (although they are welcome to do so if they choose). This is aimed at the smaller broker firm, which makes up the vast majority of the Association’s membership, as the impact of the recession has affected them much more than some of their larger, fellow members.
"This scheme is in the very early stages and we hope that more and more supplier firms will be added to the system over time. The Association will own the CommercialKeeper software and the ultimate aim is be able to provide it to every member as part of their membership package. But before any of this can happen, the pilot will be launched in January to make sure that any teething problems are ironed out before the system can be rolled out to any other members."
