FSA urges brokers to use client money guide

LONDON— The Financial Services Authority has said that nonlife insurance brokers have "no excuse" for failing to protect client money.

The London-based FSA, the U.K. insurance regulator, said that a recent study showed that brokers that used its "Client Money Guide" and a web-based training guide had a better understanding of client money handling rules than brokers studied in previous FSA investigations on the subject.

Between September and December, the FSA visited 161 general insurance brokers to assess their compliance with the regulators client money rules.

The FSA said that the main areas where using its guidance had helped improve brokers' handling of client monies were the correct calculation of client money, segregating client money in trust accounts within a day of receipt, and auditing client money systems and controls.