Michael Slack, chairman of Road Runner Motor Trade Ltd, took up his new position on 1 December and will be paid an annual salary of £22,500.
Chris Cummings, director of AMI, said that while it was disappointing that there was no mortgage practitioner on the board he believed the decision to appoint an insurance intermediary reflected FSA concerns over the integration of the insurance industry to forthcoming statutory regulation.
“At the end of the day insurance intermediaries don’t have a strong trade body to represent their business interest, so it is more important that they have a seat on the board,” said Cummings.
“Our industry has worked very hard to integrate with the new legislation and I think the regulator is expecting far fewer problems from us. In fact in a recent speech Clive Briault (managing director of retail markets at the FSA), referred to us as ‘paragons of virtue’,” he addedp.
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Stephen Timms, said: “Michael Slack will bring considerable knowledge of small financial services businesses.”
