PKF compensation victim drops appeal
Former Pannell's partner admits defeat in bid to win #200,000 insurance claim. Phillip Inman reports.
The former partner of Pannell Kerr Forster who claims the firm,000 insurance claim. abandoned him after he fell ill, said this week he had been forced to drop his appeal for compensation.
Derek Turner, a former partner in the firm’s Worcester office, said he was told by the insurance ombudsman that his health policy was unregulated.
Schemes run by the ombudsman and the Personal Investment Authority only covered personal insurance.
He was also told the insurer used by PKF – Permanent Insurance – had withdrawn from the ombudsman scheme.
Turner had appealed to Richard Pearson, PKF’s chairman, for support.
But Pearson had rejected his demands. Turner said he had written back immediately, ‘which you can take to mean that I am not happy. All I can do now is sue the insurer in the civil courts, but I can’t afford to do that,’ said Turner.
A spokeswoman for Permanent Insurance admitted the policy was unregulated, but said Turner had settled after he agreed to take part in independent arbitration.
Turner said he had been duped into believing that group health insurance was a regulated area of financial services. ‘PKF Financial Services and Permanent Insurance wrote to me on headed notepaper with the slogan: “Regulated by the Personal Investment Authority for investment business”. But they don’t say that their PHI policies are not covered. Naturally, I thought they were,’ he said.
Turner, 62, was diagnosed with spondylitis, a severe form of arthritis, by a neurological specialist in the spring of 1995.
After 18 months of wrangling, Turner settled for a payout of #100,000, which was half the sum due under the policy. He said the insurer produced a clause in the contract which stated that if he could perform any duties the policy was void.
PKF refused to comment.
