Advisory Insurance Brokers Limited

Activities and protection

What they can do, and how you are protected

• Hold or safeguard your money · Manage or trade investments FSCS may apply
  Eligible investment and pension claims are typically FSCS-protected up to £85,000 per person, depending on the product and your circumstances.
• Give regulated advice FSCS may apply
  A claim for unsuitable advice is itself FSCS-protected, up to the limit that applies to the product you were advised on.
• Sell or arrange insurance FSCS may apply
  Eligible insurance claims may be FSCS-protected, often 90%, or 100% for compulsory or long-term cover.
• Lend or arrange credit No FSCS cover
  Consumer credit is not covered by the FSCS, so there is no compensation scheme if the firm fails.

Check your FSCS cover →

Complaints: You can refer a complaint about this firm to the Financial Ombudsman Service for free, whichever activity it relates to.

Track record

Action taken against them

1 fine in 2016, £2.63m in total. This is part of the official register record and is worth reviewing before going ahead.

• Fined £2.63m on 13 July 2016

  On 13 July 2016 the Authority imposed a financial penalty of £2,632,000 to Towergate Underwriting Group Limited (“Towergate”) (FRN 313250) for breaches of Principles 3 (Management and Control) and 10 (Clients’ Assets) as well as rules contained in the Client Assets Sourcebook in the period 29 June 2005 to 31 December 2013 (“the Relevant Period”). Towergate settled at an early stage of the Authority’s investigation and therefore qualified for a 30% (Stage 1) discount under the Authority’s executive settlement procedures. Were it not for this discount, the Authority would have imposed a financial penalty of £3,760,000 on Towergate. Towergate is an insurance intermediary and during its normal business operations holds both client and insurer money. During the Relevant Period it accumulated a shortfall of £12.6m in its client and insurer money accounts, which due to significant systems and control weaknesses went undetected for several years. In breach of Principle 3 Towergate failed to take reasonable care to  organise and control its affairs responsibly and effectively with adequate risk management systems. Specifically, Towergate failed to: a) ensure that it accurately maintained all of its records to ensure correspondence to that actual insurer money held in its bank accounts; b) follow its own documented procedures by making repeated transfers from centrally held accounts and failed to identify and control the resulting risks adequately; c) perform adequate client and insurer money reconciliations and as a result Towergate failed to identify accurately surpluses and shortfalls;  d) ensure that responsibility for the monitoring of Towergate’s compliance with its Terms of Business Agreements with insurers were adequately and sufficiently allocated; and e) ensure that Towergate’s risk framework adequately monitored and reviewed the suitability of the processes and systems in place for dealing with client and insurer money within its central finance department. In breach of Principle 10 and CASS Rules 5.5.3R, 5.5.63(1)R, 5.5.63(4), 5.5.76R and 5.5.84R by failing to: a) ensure that client money was properly segregated from its own money; b) carry out accurate client money calculations and reconciliations; c) immediately correct any client money shortfall when it become aware that a shortfall might have existed;  d) immediately notify the FCA of its failure to perform required client money calculations; e) have adequate processes in place to identify interest accruing on its client money accounts in error and to then remove that interest to its office account; and f) ensure that it accurately maintained all of its records to ensure correspondence to the actual client money held in its bank accounts. Towergate did not detect that it was in breach of the FCA’s rules for over eight years. Notwithstanding the breaches, there was no actual loss of client or insurer money and the firm rectified the shortfall in the course of 2013.  The Authority’s action took effect on 13 July 2016 and a copy of the Final Notice, which sets out the reason for the action, was displayed on the Authority’s web site on 13 July 2016 and can be accessed.

  Read the FCA notice →

Common questions

Frequently asked questions