Members of the Risk and Insurance Management Society are still very interested in hearing from brokers on the topic that won't go away–any additional fees accepted from insurers, according to Janice Ochenkowski, RIMS' incoming president.
“I think we all believed the contingency issue was addressed and winding its way to closure,” said Ms. Ochenkowski, during a recent NU interview.
The introduction of supplemental payments, however, “which was a very hot topic at our conference [last April], has continued to be newsworthy,” she noted, referring to the latest broker compensation wrinkles. RIMS members, she continued, are “very interested” in hearing from the major brokerage firms regarding their positions on the issue.
RIMS' position, she explained, is that “contingency fees–supplemental payments, whatever they are–are not appropriate. A broker who is representing the insurance buyer ought to represent the insurance buyer.”
She said RIMS acknowledges the distinction between a broker and an agent. Indeed, as the bona fide representative of an organization, “it may be appropriate for an agent to accept certain payment from an insurer”–that is, as long as all parties understand “the various roles, and there is transparency from the broker or agent about which role they're playing and what they're doing.”
“I would hope we can work to get this issue behind us very quickly,” she added. “I think insurers and brokers understand what an important issue this is to their clients, and I'm confident they'll create a solution we're all going to be comfortable with.”
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