by business editor Trevor Sturgess

Standards in the insurance industry are "getting worse," according to a Kent expert.

The latest annual survey by the Insurance Manager, based near Faversham, found that documents remain littered with errors.

The overall performance of brokers and insurers is said to be getting worse, with a rise in the number of times the Kent firm has to chase them up.

"For a service industry, we're not really very good," said managing director Danny Cooper.

The fourth annual survey was carried out just months after the launch of a Chartered Insurance Institute campaign to improve professional standards across the industry.

But Mr Cooper says it seems to be taking some time to get going, and he blames larger insurance businesses for being most at fault.

"We're not naming and shaming at this stage but, worryingly, it's the bigger firms that present the most problems," he said.

"My professional concern is for the disasters yet to materialise but - closer to home - consider what a more professional industry would do to my overheads, let alone the stress levels of my staff."

The survey by IM - commended in the European Risk Service Provider of the Year Awards 2009 - sampled 150 random documents issued by insurers and supposedly checked by brokers.

"This year, just over a third contained errors, compared to 37 per cent last year.

"We don't think we're being picked on, so extrapolate our small sample to get an idea of the size of the potential problem."

The second part of the survey considers the overall efficiency of brokers and insurers.

"This is getting worse," he said. "We, basically, looked at how many phone calls, emails and letters were reminders or 'chase ups' - 51 per cent compared to 48 per last year.

"For a service industry, we're not really very good are we?"