Financial Controller Insurance Intermediary Recruitment

The Financial Controller at an insurance intermediary — a broker, a managing general agent (MGA), a Lloyd’s coverholder, a wholesaler or a specialist lines adviser — manages a regulatory and accounting environment shaped by MIPRU capital requirements, CASS 5 client premium trust accounts, bordereaux accounting for delegated authority business, and the specific revenue recognition challenges of insurance distribution businesses. The insurance intermediary FC role is less frequently sought than the asset management or investment firm FC role, but it is among the most technically specific — because the accounting for insurance distribution is genuinely unlike commercial accounting and requires direct insurance intermediary experience to manage competently.

Accountancy Capital places Financial Controllers at insurance brokers, MGAs, Lloyd’s coverholders, wholesale intermediaries, specialist lines businesses and personal lines distribution businesses across the UK at £62,000 and above. Call 0204 553 8893. For SMF2 and compliance function recruitment, see FD Capital’s FCA Regulated Firm Recruitment.

MIPRU Capital Requirements

Insurance intermediaries authorised under the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD) and regulated by the FCA must maintain minimum capital resources under MIPRU — the FCA’s Prudential Sourcebook for Mortgage and Home Finance Firms, Insurance Intermediaries and Managing Agents. The MIPRU capital requirement for insurance intermediaries is the higher of: £10,000 (or £20,000 for larger intermediaries); or 2.5% of the annual income from insurance distribution activities (defined as brokerage, fees and commissions earned from placing insurance business).

The FC at an insurance intermediary calculates the MIPRU capital requirement annually — determining annual income from insurance distribution, calculating 2.5% of this figure and comparing it against the firm’s available own funds. The MIPRU own funds calculation must be submitted to the FCA via GABRIEL and must be certified by the firm’s SMF2 (where designated) or by the CASS Oversight Function. Where the intermediary is part of a larger group, the group capital resources must also be considered.

CASS 5: Client Premium Trust Accounts

Insurance intermediaries that hold client money — premiums received from policyholders before remittance to the insurer, or claims proceeds received from insurers before payment to the policyholder — must do so in accordance with CASS 5. CASS 5 requires the intermediary to maintain segregated client money trust accounts, to perform a monthly reconciliation of the CASS 5 client money balance (the amount owed to clients and insurers under the Risk Transfer rules) against the balance held in the client trust accounts, and to report any significant CASS 5 breach to the FCA.

The CASS 5 client money reconciliation is more complex at insurance intermediaries than the equivalent CASS 7 reconciliation at investment firms, because insurance intermediaries receive premium on behalf of multiple insurers and must track both the client money held for policyholders and the insurer money held for underwriters — with the Risk Transfer agreement between the intermediary and the insurer determining whether premiums are treated as client money or as the insurer’s own money from the point of receipt. The FC who has managed a CASS 5-compliant client premium programme has a very specific insurance intermediary accounting capability.

Bordereaux Accounting: Delegated Authority Business

Managing general agents and Lloyd’s coverholders operate under delegated authority agreements — capacity contracts that authorise the MGA to write insurance business on behalf of a capacity provider (a Lloyd’s syndicate, an insurer or a reinsurer) within defined parameters of risk type, geography and premium level. The MGA FC manages the bordereaux accounting process: processing the premium bordereaux (the detailed schedule of policies written under the delegated authority) and the claims bordereaux (the schedule of claims settled or outstanding) from the MGA’s insurance administration system into the management accounts, reconciling these against the capacity provider’s bordereaux records and managing the premium settlement cycle between the MGA and the capacity provider.

The bordereaux accounting process is the central financial management discipline at an MGA — because the MGA’s management accounts are built entirely from bordereaux data, and the accuracy of those accounts depends on the quality of the bordereaux reconciliation process. The FC who has built and managed a bordereaux accounting process — who has implemented the bordereaux data processing workflow, managed the reconciliation between the MGA’s records and the capacity provider’s records and produced management accounts from bordereaux data — is providing a technical accounting capability that is entirely specific to the MGA and Lloyd’s coverholder market.

Insurance Intermediary Revenue Recognition

Insurance intermediary revenue recognition under IFRS 15 requires specific performance obligation identification for each type of insurance distribution income: Brokerage commission — typically recognised at the point when the insurance policy is bound and the intermediary’s distribution obligation is substantially complete, not spread over the policy period. Renewal commission — recognised on each renewal date when the renewal obligation is performed, not in advance of the renewal. Profit commission — recognised when the profit commission entitlement under the capacity contract is determinable (typically at the end of the underwriting year when the loss ratio is settled). Fees for advisory services — recognised as the advice is delivered, in accordance with the service agreement.

Insurance Intermediary FC Salary Benchmarks — 2026

Insurance intermediary FCs command an 8–15% premium above equivalent commercial FCs, reflecting the MIPRU capital, CASS 5 trust account and bordereaux accounting complexity. See FC at FCA-Regulated Firms and London FC Salary Guide 2026.

What Accountancy Capital Assesses in Insurance Intermediary FC Candidates

CASS 5 client premium trust account. Has the candidate managed a CASS 5-compliant client premium programme — including the monthly reconciliation, the Risk Transfer assessment and the management of any CASS 5 breaches?

Bordereaux accounting. Has the candidate built and managed a bordereaux accounting process at an MGA or Lloyd’s coverholder — processing premium and claims bordereaux into the management accounts and reconciling against capacity provider records?

MIPRU capital requirement. Has the candidate calculated the MIPRU capital resources requirement and submitted the GABRIEL MIPRU capital return?

Insurance distribution revenue recognition. Has the candidate applied IFRS 15 to insurance distribution income — distinguishing brokerage commission, renewal commission, profit commission and advisory fee revenue streams?

Insurance intermediary finance professionals with CASS 5, MIPRU and bordereaux experience are invited to register here or call 0204 553 8893.

The insurance intermediary FC market in 2026 is characterised by the same PE consolidation dynamic as the wealth management market — PE-backed MGA platforms are acquiring smaller MGAs and Lloyd’s coverholders, creating Group FC briefs that combine bordereaux accounting and CASS 5 expertise with multi-entity consolidation and acquisition integration depth. The PE-backed MGA Group FC who can manage both the bordereaux accounting process for the underlying insurance business and the Group FC consolidation of acquired entities is among the most niche and most sought FC profiles in the UK insurance market. Accountancy Capital places at this intersection. Call 0204 553 8893. ICAEW Fellow Founder Adrian Lawrence FCA — verify via ICAEW.

Insurance intermediary FC brief essentials for Accountancy Capital: intermediary type (broker, MGA, Lloyd’s coverholder, wholesale, personal lines distributor); whether the firm holds client money under CASS 5; whether the firm operates under delegated authority (MGA/coverholder) requiring bordereaux accounting; the premium volume and number of capacity providers or insurers; and whether the FC is also the SMF2 designate. Call 0204 553 8893. Permanent shortlist in five to seven working days. Interim insurance intermediary FC in 48–72 hours.

Insurance Intermediary FC: Lloyd’s of London Coverholder Market

Lloyd’s coverholders — businesses that hold delegated authority from a Lloyd’s syndicate to bind risks and settle claims on the syndicate’s behalf — operate within one of the most complex accounting frameworks in the UK insurance intermediary market. The Lloyd’s coverholder FC manages: the delegated authority accounting under the Coverholder Reporting Standards (CRS) that Lloyd’s mandates for all coverholders; the bordereaux production and submission to the Lloyd’s managing agent on the required timetable (typically monthly for premiums and claims); the Lloyd’s Central Fund exposure assessment; and the quarterly Coverholder Performance Report that the managing agent uses to monitor the coverholder’s underwriting performance against the delegated authority parameters.

The coverholder FC also manages the Lloyd’s coverholder premium trust fund — the trust account that Lloyd’s rules require coverholders to maintain for premiums received under the delegated authority before remittance to the managing agent. This is a specific variant of the CASS 5 client premium trust account framework, with Lloyd’s additional governance requirements overlaying the FCA CASS 5 rules.

Insurance Intermediary FC: Summary and Candidate Registration

Accountancy Capital places FCs at insurance brokers, MGAs and Lloyd’s coverholders at £62,000 and above. CASS 5 client premium trust account, MIPRU capital requirement, bordereaux accounting and insurance distribution revenue recognition assessed specifically. Permanent shortlist in five to seven working days. Interim insurance intermediary FC shortlist in 48–72 hours. Same-day response. Insurance intermediary finance professionals with CASS 5, MIPRU and bordereaux experience are invited to register here or call 0204 553 8893. See FC at FCA-Regulated Firms, Asset Management FC, Investment Firm FC, Wealth Management FC, FD Capital FCA Recruitment, London FC Salary 2026, UK FC Salary Guide and Accountancy Candidates Hub for the complete insurance intermediary FC resource suite. ICAEW Fellow Founder Adrian Lawrence FCA — verify via ICAEW. All salary benchmarks reflect Accountancy Capital live placement data through June 2026.