Top protection-and-indemnity (P&I) broker Ian Robertson is cutting back after a period of illness and the loss of his biggest client.

Robertson will take six months of sick leave from Arthur J Gallagher and then become a consultant, rather than an employee, of the fourth largest of the insurance broking groups. He has been a leading figure in P&I broking since the 1980s, with close connections to Greek owners, although he lost his most profitable client, Polembros, ahead of last month's renewal.

Robertson