Will GDPR cost brokers over £5,000?

Over a quarter (28%) of respondents suggested they would spend between £1,001 and £2,500 in total whilst a further 22% indicated that they would spend more than £2,500.

9% of brokers believed they would spend more than £10,000 preparing for GDPR.

However, 15% are yet to start their preparations for the new regulations which come into force on the 25th May.

65% of brokers are currently working towards ensuring their businesses are GDPR compliant whilst a further 14% believe they already meet the data handling, storage and security requirements stipulated by the new regulations. The remaining 6% didn’t know what GDPR was or didn’t think it would apply to them.

Finally, brokers were asked how confident they were that they would be GDPR compliant by the May 25th deadline. 64% were very confident, 32% confident and the remaining 4% were not at all confident.

Mark Heaphy, head of compliance at United Trust Bank, commented: “Data Protection Regulation has been around for a number of years and all businesses should be taking the regulation seriously. From the 26th of May this year companies will have to be able to demonstrate compliance or face potentially heavy fines – up to 20m Euros for the biggest companies. If you run a business or are self-employed in the financial services sector, or provide a service to a company or individual which is, there’s a good chance that GDPR will affect you.

“At UTB this has been on our radar for over a year and we’ve been preparing for just as long. Whilst we’re confident of being compliant by the May deadline, we’re not there yet and I would urge those 15% of brokers who haven’t started preparing, and the 6% who don’t know what GDPR is or think it doesn’t apply to them, to take a close look at what they’re expected to do. There’s little more than two months in which to get houses in order and if you can’t prove you’re ready, you may be in trouble with the Information Commissioner’s Office and find that other businesses will refuse to trade with you until you are."