Consumer Duty

This article, provided by guest authors Robin Wood and Roger Franklin, continues our series looking at an insurance broker’s duty of care and improving the quality of your Professional Indemnity risk management. This week focuses on the FCA’s Consumer Duty.

Under the Consumer Duty, firms must enable and support customers to pursue their financial objectives throughout the customer journey. In this article, we will look at how you can support your customers throughout the lifecycle of a product or service.

Under the Consumer Duty, firms are required to ensure that all products and services meet the needs, characteristics, and objectives of customers in their target market, including those with protected characteristics or characteristics of vulnerability. How can inclusive design help to achieve this?

People with mental health problems are being charged higher insurance premiums compared to non-sufferers. This article examines the implications of this and how firms can do more to ensure they are offering fair value to all customers.

Training has already come a long way in recent years, but how is the shift in focus to consumer outcomes, under the new Consumer Duty, likely to affect learning and development going forward?

Last week, we looked at diversity and inclusion in customer services under the Consumer Duty. In this article, we will be looking specifically at disability, one of the nine protected characteristics, and how it can affect a customer’s experience.

What key examples of good practice has the FCA highlighted from their review of firm’s Consumer Duty implementation plans?

Following a review of Consumer Duty implementation plans the FCA has highlighted 3 key areas firms may need to reconsider. What does your insurance firm need to know to remain compliant?  

Failure to recognise the diverse needs of certain groups can lead to customers receiving poor outcomes. How can customer services staff communicate more effectively to help deliver better outcomes for all?