FMA: Advisers without PI should 'take the bull by the horns'

FMA director of market engagement, John Botica, told Good Returns that although NZI is refusing to provide PI insurance to small FAPs comes as a surprise, he does not believe it is the end of the line for these advisers.

“To be honest it was a surprise. As part of our consultation period around PI insurance we spoke to a lot of the brokers and they did tell us at that point that they would continue providing cover for advisers. To then turn around and come to market with this is a change that I didn’t expect.”

Botica told Good Returns that although the announcement was surprising he does not see it as heralding the doom of the single adviser FAP.

“Well run businesses that understand the psyche of their clients should not have any great levels of fear from these changes. There are no hurdles here that can’t be overcome.”