Am I getting old or just intolerant? Peter Staddon slams (certain) cyclists in our latest PB Week

- Peter Staddon, technical services director at the British Insurance Brokers’ Association
- 14 Feb 2008
- Indicative reading time: 1 minute

What is it with cyclists in London today? Hang on, let me modify that statement before I get mauled by the cycling lobby. What is it with certain cyclists in London today? I live and work in London and have noticed over a number of years that the rules of the road appear to have become blurred when it comes to pedal power.

I have forgotten the number of times when I have been walking down a one-way street checking oncoming traffic only to be almost run down by a cyclist going hell for leather the wrong way down the road. Not only that, but these cyclists ignore red traffic lights, cycle on pavements and are generally a nuisance. As a Chartered Insurance Broker if I were to treat my customer or the general public with the same lack of regard that these (certain) two-wheeled militants do the pedestrian then the Financial Services Authority, and my peers, would be on my back and with good reason. So what can we do?

As brokers we should not stoop to this level. We should claim the moral high ground and seek to do unto others etc etc as the old saying goes. But are we doing what these cyclists do only in the name of insurance? All too often I receive e-mails or telephone calls from brokers who have lost a client because another broker, or direct insurer, has come charging in with aggressive pricing and caught them off guard. Or is that loss our fault? If we look after our customers, give them the service that we ourselves would like to see and provide them with expert advice – then surely they would be more inclined to remain with us.

Unlike the courier cyclist rushing from A to B with no restraint we the broker should set our stall out on expert advice. In that way the road would be barred and we might just slow down those who choose aggressive sales tactics and cut throat pricing.

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