I'm not having a go at you and I am certainly not questioning your viewpoint. Perish the thought. There is enough childish sniping, cat scratching and back biting goes on in internet forums without me adding to it.
Two people with differing opinions can raise those opinions without resorting to such behaviour.
I was intrigued by your statement that the CPL Skills Test was 'easy' - I will find out in a few weeks time and I sincerely hope that I find it as easy as yourself although I do not have the benefit of an IR or 2000 hours. But first I have the FI to finish off (as a PPL) - wx prevented my test last Tuesday.
I didn't assume a CPL FI was worth more than a PPL FI - I had a valid reason for asking the question with had nothing to do with 'value' and you have answered it, which raises an interesting issue regarding charging. If an organisation charges £120 per hour for instruction with a CPL FI, £20 of which goes to the FI, yet also charges £120 with a PPL FI, none of which goes to the FI, it is clearly in the financial interests of the FTO to have unpaid PPL FIs instructing. Simple maths and bigger profits.
In that respect the introduction of PPL FIs is clearly advatageous to the FTO, apart from being potentially detrimental to career CPL FIs, and I could imagine the unscrupulous of those FTOs taking advantage of that situation. That's not to say that all would, just an observation that some could. That has nothing to do with CPL / PPL ability, simply finances.
As I thought I had made clear, I am also in agreement with you that CPL or PPL makes no difference to an ability to teach. You can have 1,000's of flying hours under your belt with all the ratings under the sun and have flown through 30W countless times but it does not mean that you will be a good instructor. Similarly, the guy who for some reason cannot hold a CPL and who has a couple of hundred PPL hours, having absorbed everything he had been taught and has diligently applied those teachings coupled with an ability to communicate and empathise may make an absolutely brilliant instructor.
As for insurers, again I'm not having a go at you and I am certainly not hiding behind any forum. I don't know how many aviation insurers there are in the UK - I never claimed that I did. What I did question was whether the insurers would be happy to insure PPL FIs and I stand by my statement that if I was a PPL FI I would not be content to blindly go off and instruct without first seeing the policy. 'A bloke on a forum' or 'my boss told me I was OK' would not hold any water. Having worked with insurance companies for several years at the sharp end, the really sharp end, of insurance claims I am pretty happy that I know the way they work, despite how amazed they may claim to be at the way people talk about them. Having saved them very substantial amounts of money I know for a fact the lengths they will go to and how pleased they are when you save them that money.
Right then, I am now going to go off and skulk under my stone, having been suitably chastised or I may go and open a beer instead....ah, f*** it, the beer won!
Happy days and let's stay chilled.