Conduct Comment

News views and articles from Conduct Matters Ltd.

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  It can happen to us all - the LPA struggle

  29th August 2019

  I recently posted that July 2019 is the 40th anniversary of when I started working in insurance. I still remember shyly walking in the doors of Eagle Star Sutton and setting to work as an underwriting assistant in the “all-in” department – where we issued and managed commercial and personal package policies. Knowing this about me, it will come as no surprise to discover I am old enough to have parents in their 80’s. Neither are able to deal with their finances and for different reasons (my dad has dementia) both live in a care home. So, this means both of my parents are vulnerable consumers and, despite my knowledge of financial services, I also have the potential to be a vulnerable consumer when I am dealing with issues on their behalf. One element of vulnerability is where someone becomes susceptible because “a firm is not acting with appropriate levels of care". I wanted to share some of my experiences – maybe someone in a financial services firm will listen and...

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  Healthy culture – it’s not just about processes and rules

  30th June 2019

  I work with many different clients who find many elements of compliance and specifically the fair treatment of their customers is directly linked to their culture. Culture is such a huge issue for our industry and it’s a struggle for many firms. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) 2019/20...

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  Blame the insurer

  25th April 2019

  There is a trader in my town who has been selling fruit and veg from a stall on our high street. He has been there for some 25 years and is part of the character of the town. It has recently been announced that he has to move into a shop unit. This has really saddened me – the stall is...

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  Carphone Warehouse FCA fine

  20th March 2019

  My husband is not that keen on shopping, but he finds the experience especially challenging when we go out to buy something where there is the risk of someone trying to sell us add-on insurance cover. Add-on insurance is a policy purchased as a secondary part of a main transaction....

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  Are your customers happy?

  21st February 2019

  We talk a lot about how best to treat our customers fairly and ensure we meet their reasonable needs and expectations. However, it is very tempting to design products and services that meet our own expectations of what we think our customers need.  There has been plenty of research into the...

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  Are you ready for IDD training requirements?

  4th October 2018

  The Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD) came into effect on 1 October 2018 replacing the Insurance Mediation Directive (IMD).  The key aim of the new directive is to enhance consumer protection when buying insurance and to support competition between insurance distributors by creating a...

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