Commenting, Assurant’s Kevin Paterson, sales & marketing director, said: “As far as we’re concerned, renewal commission is not paid as goodwill. I understand that some general insurance providers state that they have no contractual obligation to pay where a network ceases its arrangement with them. Well, that’s not the case at Assurant Intermediary. We have written our commitment to renewal commissions into our contract and will stand by our obligations.”
Paterson also confirmed that Assurant Intermediary has an equally committed approach when it comes to paying commissions into retirement: “There is no foundation in regulation for not paying commissions into retirement. If the broker remains liable for the advice given into retirement, then they should be able to continue to receive the ongoing renewal commission.”
Under the terms of its contract, Assurant Intermediary will continue to pay trail commissions into retirement as long as the intermediary remains registered with the Financial Services Authority. Should the intermediary choose to deregister then Assurant Intermediary will either offer to buy the book of business or allow the intermediary to transfer the book in-house and move to an introducer status – so ensuring they continue to receive renewal commissions.
