Treating customers fairly (TCF)
Legal Update: Conflicts of interest in the insurance distribution chain
As they prepare for the Insurance Distribution Directive, insurers and brokers need to be wary of conflicts of interest, which the Financial Conduct Authority has been monitoring closely, explain Roseyna Jahangir and Juanita Morrison, associate and…
Research: Focus on fraud
What does a Greek merchant in 300BC delivering corn on a cargo ship have in common with nearly one-tenth of today’s UK population? The answer is insurance fraud. Michèle Bacchus takes a closer look.
Spotlight: Vehicle hire: What is best practice for today’s insurance market?
A positive customer experience is never more important than at the point of claim. James Roberts, business development director for insurance at Europcar UK, explains how following best practice in replacement car hire can create this.
Blog: Don't turn your back on fraud-busting tech
Fraudsters never rest and Lior Koskas, managing director of Digilog UK, urges the industry to remain open to sharing in the latest risk identification tools and continually review procedures for fraud.
Ageas' Andy Watson's wish list for returning MPs
As goverment returns to business, Andy Watson, CEO of Ageas UK, reminds MPs that there are still three major areas of policy affecting insurance that need to be properly addressed before insurers can begin to control and then reduce customer premiums.
Analysis: Pet insurance: fetching data
Customer profiling is key to accurately assessing insurance risk, capturing fraud and improving the pet owner’s insurance experience
Analysis: The truth behind the broken system of dual pricing
The industry has faced sustained attacks in recent months for its ‘shameful’ practice of raising rates for loyal customers, with one newspaper calling for the government to ‘punish the insurance pirates’.
Insurers at risk of losing two thirds of previous customer data due to GDPR
Insurers will have to delete two thirds of data that they hold on customers and risk losing a vital sales pipeline under the General Data Protection Regulations that come into place on May 2018, according to research from Consumer Intelligence.
Brokers: The unbearable weight of regulation
Brokers are becoming increasingly frustrated with the Financial Conduct Authority, citing rising compliance costs and an overbearing regulatory regime as hurdles to growth and innovation
C Suite: A Plan's Carl Shuker on advised and non-advised sales
The internet is, of course, most of the time, a force for good, but is it driving down the quality of what we as an industry offer our clients? Carl Shuker, CEO of A-Plan Insurance, investigates.
Editor's comment: Do you have our loyalty card?
I got a ‘call’ from my mum the other day. I mean I speak to her every day and she only lives half a mile away but this was one of those ‘could you please do something for me?’ calls.
Claims Club: Importance of loss adjusters must increase for UK to regain status as pre-eminent insurance market
Insurers need to cut out bureaucracy, the role of lawyers has to be reduced and importance of loss adjusters increased if the UK is to regain its position as one of the world’s pre-eminent insurance markets.
Ethics moves into the mainstream
David Thomson, CII Director of Policy & Public Affairs, predicts a larger role for ethics within the industry as the regulator focuses on cultural reform
Managing General Agents: Tightening up
Most sectors of the insurance industry audibly groan when presented with the possibility of increased regulation – so why are managing general agents welcoming the prospect?
Expertise in Action: Broker: Preferential treatment
Few clients are interested in commission disclosure, however, the issue of preferential treatment for brokers that produce the most business for insurers could soon face regulatory scrutiny.
Broker complaint handling under spotlight
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority has today launched a public consultation on guidelines regarding complaints-handling by insurance intermediaries.
Incentive schemes: where do the real issues lie?
On Wednesday, the Financial Services Authority published the results of a review into risks faced by customers from financial incentives, and found that bonus-based schemes increase the risk of mis-selling. With a consultation on the issue launched …
Regulator admits failures in "formulaic" TCF rules
Financial services firms that currently offer staff incentives on sales have up to 18 months to make sure their schemes are fair to customers.
Ethics: Entering the moral maze
The insurance industry has a poor public perception, many believing that firms put short-term profit above long-term customer satisfaction.
Call for tougher regulation accepted by aggregators
The British Insurance Brokers' Association has called for rules governing electronic trading to be updated to keep pace with technological developments in the aggregator space.
Meerkats and opera singers come under the FSA's spotlight
The FSA's announcement of guidance for aggregators when it comes to treating customers fairly in the selling of general insurance has provoked a flurry of responses from you the loyal reader. Perhaps you're tired of the large opera singer and Aleksandr…
Biba backs regulator's guidance for aggregators
The British Insurance Brokers' Association has welcomed the Financial Services Authority proposed guidance for comparison websites, which it said has addressed its own concerns about consumer detriment.
The Insurance Fraud Awards 2010 - winners announced
Over 380 of the great and the good from the general insurance industry's fraud detection and prevention sector gathered in London last night for Post's Insurance Fraud Awards 2010.
Start-up seeks to aid genuine claims validation
An initiative that aims to help claims handlers make faster, informed decisions to validate a claim or pass it on for further investigation, has been launched by Stuart Dennis, chief executive of fraud management company TCF Corporate.