FCA Consumer Duty – what’s that all about + GI update

The FCA want to see a higher level of consumer protection in retail financial markets, where firms compete vigorously in the interests of consumers and they wish to drive a healthy and successful financial services system in which firms can thrive and consumers can make informed choices about financial products and services. They consider that firms are not consistently and sufficiently prioritising good consumer outcomes and this causes consumer harm and erodes consumer trust. They set out high-level proposals in their first consultation and have now revised those in light of feedback and are setting out their proposals in more detail with final rules due to be published by 31 July 2022.

The new Consumer Duty aims to bring about a fairer, more consumer-focused and level playing field in which:-

• firms are consistently placing consumers’ interests at the centre of their businesses and extending their focus beyond ensuring narrow compliance with specific rules, to focus on delivering good outcomes for consumers

• consumers get products and services which are fit for purpose, provide fair value, that they understand how to use and are supported in doing so.

Learning Objectives:

• What is the new Consumer Duty and what will you have to do;
• A reminder as to current issues when it comes to general insurance - key aspects of the product governance and pricing rules and what it means to brokers and how these link with Consumer Duty;
• Coverage of the recent survey as to firms’ compliance with these rules and the Dear CEO letter and current survey on multi-occupancy insurances and the ramifications of this for insurers and brokers alike.

Guest Speaker:

Branko Bjelobaba FCII started his insurance career in 1987 and has worked across the sector including stints at PwC and GISC and has led his own consultancy practice since 2004. He works closely with AMII, BIBA and the CII and has provided hundreds of well-received (even entertaining!) training events throughout the UK. He is a recipient of the Thomson Reuters Compliance Personality of the Year Award, the London Market People Award for Legal and Compliance and was Highly Commended in the CII Public Trust Awards 2021. Last year he was quoted in the insurance press on 81 occasions.

Since the world went virtual Branko has so far provided over 175+ events to more than 11,000 insurance professionals and feedback has been superb:-

“I have had the pleasure of attending two webinars hosted by Branko this year, both times on fairly 'heavyweight' topics - the Supreme Court decision on the BI Insurance test case and most recently on the FCA's new GI pricing practices. In my opinion, Branko is the epitome of a professional speaker - knowledgeable, engaging and enthusiastic about his subject, something which is essential when trying to convey often complex information. The tone and content of his webinars are always pitched at just the right level for his audience - not overly technical but at the same time imparting sufficient knowledge for you to feel that it was worthwhile attending. I'm looking forward to the next one.” Sarah Offord-Jones FCII.

“I attended the session provided by Branko for the Insurance institute of Northern Ireland. He covered in a very efficient and concise manner the Supreme Court decision on Covid and the consequences for the industry. The 1 hour passed too soon as was evidenced by the number of questions and comments from the audience. I would recommend Branko to any insurance body seeking practical information on this topic. You will not want to leave the session even for a coffee.” Tom McGrath CBE, FCII.