Almost three quarters of intermediaries have warned that the weight of regulation is damaging insurers' customer service, in a survey conducted by EDM Group.
In a survey of 112 intermediaries conducted by information management firm EDM Group, 73% warned that customer service is already suffering as a result of resources being dedicated to dealing with legislation.
In a corresponding survey of in 43 insurance executives, 23% said that customer service levels were being affected by new rules.
At the same time, just 32% of intermediaries said insurers are coping well with regulation, while 21% said insurers had been poor in handling waves of new rules.
On the insurance executives surveyed, 16% admitted performance in handling new regulation had been poor, while 35% said insurers were coping well.
EDM Group head of insurance Craig Campbell said: "New legislation has been one of the biggest challenges facing insurers, and our research suggests that poor management of information and data has had a negative impact here."
Just over two-thirds of insurance execs pointed to poor information and data management as critical to the ability of insurers to handle new legislation, with the sentiment echoed by 35% of intermediaries.
"One key way in which insurers are addressing this issue is by digitising more of their information and relying less on paper-based sources of data. This will not only improve their levels of efficiency and reduce costs, but also help ensure that they are compliant with all of the legislation they have to adhere to," Campbell said.
