It’s the season of the elf on the shelf.  So, with elf being German for eleven, the Gauntlet AR Network is giving you eleven things to mull over during the festive period, to assess which may resonate.  If any do, perhaps you will see that being a directly authorised broker may no longer be in your best interests.

1. Insurer agencies

You probably have few insurance options to offer to your clients and cannot generate the level of business insurers want to see before they will give you an agency.  This is limiting your sales potential and earnings.

2. Market evolution

When you became directly authorised, that’s what brokers did.  Now, things have swung around and start-up brokers do not see direct authorisation as the way to go.  The thriving local brokers are actually ARs.  If only you hadn’t become directly authorised.  Is there anything you can do about this?

3. IT

Your IT system is slow, inefficient and creaking but you really can’t afford to invest in a system that will put you on a par with other brokers.

4. PI

You dread your PI renewal date, with the cost of your premium now a cause for concern within your accounts.

5. Accounting

Talking of accounts, you just hate doing them.  You’re having to spend time filling in spreadsheets and uploading digital accounts records, when you should be dealing with clients.

6. Compliance

If only you had known how much the compliance duty would snowball, when you first decided to become directly authorised.  Now, all you seem to do is fill in forms and reports for the FCA.  There’s little time left for broking.

7. Overheads

The cost of running an office has rocketed, with energy bills, in particular, out of control.  Yet, you can’t work from home, as your IT is too poor.  You feel stuck.

8. Wage bill and employment law

Being an employer is becoming all too much for you, with wages soaring and so many employment laws to consider.  All of this is also eating into your time.

9. Exit strategy

You have no clear exit strategy and are too small a business to attract the eye of an acquirer.  However, you can’t grow your business, for all the reasons already considered.  It’s a Catch-22 situation.

10. Time off

You can’t take holidays or even have a day off sick, as you have to keep the business running and demonstrate to the FCA that your clients always have support.

11. Marginalised

You feel you are on the fringes of the industry, excluded from the real world of broking and more or less ‘ghosted’.  You also have little opportunity to network with other brokers.

How to improve your position as a directly authorised broker

If all, or some of these eleven things do resonate with you, it’s probably time to do something about your situation.

Through our Gauntlet Deauthorisation Fast-track process, you now have the opportunity to change your trading status from directly authorised to AR.  That can help you tackle all of the things that are holding you back and probably boost your earning potential in a tangible way.

You will instantly gain market access, be able to benefit from first-class IT and have a highly experienced team take over your compliance reporting, accounting and money handling.  You will also have access to over 300 insurers and facilities and be provided with PI cover. You can downsize and even close your office premises and work from home, if you want to.

When you want time off, our broking team can just take over and run things for you and they can do all your broking placement full-time, if you wish.

And there will be no more feeling marginalised.  You will always have a head office team assisting you but can also attend AR conferences, to network with fellow appointed representatives.

Your broker exit strategy

Most importantly, when it comes to your exit strategy, there will be an option to discuss a sale to Gauntlet Group, which could be a complete sale, or a gradual, staged movement of clients, as you begin to wind down.  There’s no obligation to do this but it’s a major advantage of being with a network that has its own direct sales function.

If the eleven reasons to relinquish direct authorisation resonate with you, do something about it now and de-authorise.  2025 could look a whole lot brighter, if you do.

Contact NigelLaw@GauntletGroup.com or fill in the enquiry form now.