According to industry reports a number of aviation insurance and reinsurance brokers are being investigated by the UK’s financial conduct authority (FCA) over the sharing and misuse of sensitive information.
Brokers Aon, JLT, Willis Towers Watson, and Marsh are being investigated by the FCA as part of its probe into the UK aviation sector.
According to Reuters, the FCA informed Marsh that it has “reasonable grounds for suspecting” aviation brokers in the UK market have been “sharing competitively sensitive information.”
Broker Marsh told Reuters that it’s cooperating with the FCA to aid its investigation, and also said it would conduct its own review with the assistance of outside counsel.
Reuters also reported that an email from Willis Towers Watson revealed the broker was “cooperating fully” with the FCA after officials visited the company’s offices regarding the investigation.
A statement released by JLT said it’s “participating in this investigation” and is working with the FCA to assist where it can.
Aon also said that it’s working “diligently” with the FCA to assist its investigation into the UK aviation industry, which Aon says represented less than $100 million in global revenue in 2016.
Industry sources have reported that FCA investigators have met with those under investigation, and that it could actually include more brokers than the four discussed in this article, concerning both insurance and reinsurance aviation activities.
According to reports the FCA is yet to comment on the investigation, which isn’t too surprising as the investigation is ongoing and seemingly involves a number of brokers.
