Mortgage Brokers

A Snapshot of Services We Assist

Mortgage Brokers Exposures and Risks

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Professional Indemnity Insurance

Professional Indemnity is one of the most important insurance lines for this occupation. The main product of this occupation is the professional advice or service provided. The financial adviser or intermediary sub-group includes intermediary services for home loans, investments, finance, future trading and other financial products, as well as advisory services regarding a range of financial products and investments. It also includes parties acting as executors, trustees or deceased estate management.

In the current environment, where people are encouraged to take legal action for all manner of reasons, there are many times when a party providing advice or recommendations is at risk of being sued. The insured’s professional liability exposure varies depending on the nature of the service and type of clientele that they service (and varies considerably for this group based on the above) but in general exposure will be significant in that the insured’s staff will be handling and advising with regard to financial assets/transactions and the cost to the client or errors or mistakes could be significant. Some of the more common sources of claims include:

• breach of professional duty of care (e.g. failure to correctly establish client needs, failure to provide proper mortgage/investment advice, errors in placement of orders, failure to take into account market trends or information available before providing portfolio investment management advice etc);
• wrongful advice in relation to investment decisions or proposed deals;
• negligent acts, errors or omissions (e.g. in data processing, paperwork or in documenting client decisions);
• unintentional infringement of intellectual property rights;
• loss of documents or data entrusted to the insured (particularly that with financial value);
• unintentional breach of confidence, privacy legislation or misuse of information e.g. insider trading;
• unintentional breaches of the Trade Practices Act or specific regulation (e.g. Corporations Law, Trade Practices Act, Australian Consumer Laws and the specific requirements set by Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)); and
• breaches of Data Protection/Privacy legislation.

Some of the more common sources of claims may arise in this industry may due to:

• Breach of professional duty of care
• Wrongful advice
• Negligent acts, errors or omissions (e.g. in data processing);
• Unintentional infringement of intellectual property rights;
• Loss of documents or data entrusted to the insured;
• Unintentional breach of confidence, confidential duty or misuse of information;
• Unintentional breaches of the Trade Practices Act; and/or
• Breaches of Data Protection/Privacy legislation.

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Cyber Liability‍

• Businesses are becoming more and more dependent on digital technology/integrated IT systems;
• Security/privacy breach – presence of large volumes of sensitive personal and cooperate data/presence of digital files and databases;
• External hacking attacks, internal negligence, deliberate acts, system glitches etc.;
• Electronic data/software loss and replacement cost following a cyber-attack;
• Electronic media liability – including invasion of privacy, infringement of copyright, title, slogan, trademark or service names including domain names, false advertising etc.;
• Business interruption/increased in cost of working following a cyber-attack;
• Businesses held to ransom before systems are released;
• Privacy breach – accidental distribution of customers personal information in a mass e-mail;
• Cyber-threat from interconnected supply chain business partners/outsourced services providers;
• Internal control and other issues – e.g. non-segregation of sensitive data, inadequate user access control/password protection, outdated POS software applications, absence of up to date antivirus software/firewalls, unencrypted data/information/lack of end-to-end encryption;
• Possible presence of older devices/computer systems with outdated operating systems and unsupported software;
• Inadequate training for employees on data security/privacy/cyber risk. No or inadequate background checks conducted on employees/various service providers/suppliers etc. Possible presence of higher numbers of temporary staff in the industry;
• Compliance and control issues – no or inadequate policies, procedures and protocols on cyber security and related matters (if applicable);
• Bring your own devices (BYOD), download and install personal, or unauthorised software, use of USB or other media devices;
• Extra expenses following a cyber incident including forensic investigation costs, crisis management expenses, notification and monitoring expenses, remediation expenses and other extra expenses association with a loss;
• Brand and reputational damage following a cyber-attack/data breach;
• Security lapses in company web-sites – cyber threat to own hardware and software. Cyber threat to visitors of the website;
• Lack of security measures including a combination of technology (e.g. IT security) and physical security at the premises.

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Why choose Hunter Broking Group?

Mortgage Broking Insurance Broker Brisbane:


Hunter Broking Group can assist with Insurance for Mortgage Brokers & Office Equipment Insurance. Through industry specific insurers, your designated advisor has access to a comprehensive range of insurance products that be tailored to suit most mortgage broking operations and consulting risks. We can arrange insurance for various segments in the mortgage broking industry including:

• Residential Mortgage Broking
• Mortgage Origination
• Mortgage Management
• Arranging of Deposit Bonds
• Refinancing
• Investment Property
• Reverse Mortgages
• Second Mortgages
• Credit-Impaired Loans

Hunter Broking Group pride themselves on having a local presence with a national strength, our technical product experience allows us to manage and service mortgage broking insurance products such as:

• Professional Indemnity Insurance
• Public Liability Insurance
• Office Equipment Insurance
• Employers Liability (non government states)
• Electronic Breakdown Insurance
• Management Liability Insurance
• Cyber Liability Insurance
• Personal Accident / Illness Insurance
• Tax Audit Insurance
• Increased Cost of Working Insurance
• Business Interruption Insurance
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Office equipment insurance is a core focus for our advisors, whether we are looking after small computer stations or corporate office equipment, Hunter Broking Group have the experience to provide the appropriate advice for your size and risk exposures.

Our experienced brokers can help you get the most appropriate insurance cover by assessing your specific needs and recommending the best value insurance solution for your business, whilst still maintaining the highest standard of cover.

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Information Sources

https://www.lmiriskcoach.com/industries/22899/hazard-index

https://www.lmiriskcoach.com/industries/22899/risk-assessment