Is an insurer, in the United Kingdom

Consumer Credit Act 1974 (c. 39), ss. 158 and 159 · Read the law's page

• If you are a credit reference agency, give a consumer that asks in writing, supplies particulars enabling you to identify the file and pays the fee, a copy of the file you keep on that consumer within the prescribed period, in plain English (section 158(1) and (5)).
• If you are a credit reference agency, give the consumer, with the copy of the file, a statement in the prescribed form of the consumer's rights under section 159 (section 158(2)).
• If you are a credit reference agency and keep no file relating to the consumer, give the consumer notice of that fact (section 158(3)).
• If you are a credit reference agency and an individual who considers that an entry in the file is incorrect and likely to prejudice the individual gives you notice, inform the individual within 28 days that you have removed the entry, amended it or taken no action (section 159(1) and (2)).
• If you are a credit reference agency and the objector serves a further notice, add to the file an accompanying notice of correction of not more than 200 words and include a copy of it when furnishing information based on that entry, or tell the objector within 28 days that you intend to comply or apply to the relevant authority (section 159(3) to (5)).

PRA Rulebook, Fundamental Rule 5 · Read the law's page

• It reaches you if you are a firm to which the Fundamental Rules Part of the PRA Rulebook applies. The Part applies to all firms unless otherwise stated, and the Fundamental Rules apply with respect to the carrying on of regulated activities, dealing in investments as principal and ancillary activities in relation to PRA-regulated activities, wherever those activities are carried on. Fundamental Rule 5 also applies to unregulated activities, but only in a prudential context, and takes into account any activity of other members of a group of which the firm is a member.
• A firm must have effective risk strategies and risk management systems (Fundamental Rule 5).

FCA Handbook, COBS 9A · Read the law's page

• It reaches you if you are a firm that provides investment advice or portfolio management in the course of MiFID, equivalent third country or optional exemption business, or investment advice in relation to an insurance-based investment product (COBS 9A.1.1R; for an insurance-based investment product only the rules that implemented the IDD or derive from the IDD Regulation apply, COBS 9A.1.5R; the chapter does not apply in relation to a targeted support service within the scope of COBS 9B, COBS 9A.1.1AG): when providing investment advice or portfolio management, obtain the necessary information regarding the client's knowledge and experience in the investment field relevant to the specific type of financial instrument or service, financial situation including ability to bear losses, and investment objectives including risk tolerance, and only recommend investment services and financial instruments, or take decisions to trade, which are suitable for the client and in particular in accordance with the client's risk tolerance and ability to bear losses (COBS 9A.2.1R).
• If you provide investment advice or portfolio management services in whole or in part through an automated or semi-automated system, remain responsible for the suitability assessment required by COBS 9A.2; that obligation is not affected by the use of an electronic system in making the personal recommendation or decision to trade (COBS 9A.2.23R).
• Determine the extent of the information to be obtained from a client in light of all the features of the service to be provided, and obtain from the client such information as is necessary to understand the essential facts about the client and to have a reasonable basis for determining that the specific transaction meets the client's investment objectives including risk tolerance, that the client is able financially to bear any related investment risks consistent with those objectives, and that the client has the necessary experience and knowledge to understand the risks involved in the transaction or in the management of the portfolio (COBS 9A.2.4R).
• Take reasonable steps to ensure that the information collected about your clients is reliable, including by ensuring that all tools, such as risk assessment profiling tools or tools to assess a client's knowledge and experience, used in the suitability assessment process are fit-for-purpose and appropriately designed for use with your clients, with any limitations identified and actively mitigated, and that the questions used are likely to be understood by clients and capture an accurate reflection of the client's objectives and needs (COBS 9A.2.9R).
• If you have an on-going relationship with a client, such as by providing on-going advice or portfolio management, have, and be able to demonstrate, appropriate policies and procedures to maintain adequate and up-to-date information about that client to the extent necessary to fulfill COBS 9A.2.4R (COBS 9A.2.10R).
• Have in place, and be able to demonstrate, adequate policies and procedures to ensure that you understand the nature and features, including the costs and risks, of the investment services and financial instruments selected for your clients, and that, taking into account cost and complexity, you assess whether equivalent investment services or financial instruments could meet the client's profile (COBS 9A.2.19R).
• Do not recommend investment services or financial instruments to a client if you have not obtained the information COBS 9A.2.1R requires (COBS 9A.2.13R), and when providing investment advice or portfolio management do not recommend or decide to trade where none of the services or instruments are suitable for the client (COBS 9A.2.20R).
• When providing investment advice or portfolio management to retail clients that involves switching investments, collect the necessary information on the client's existing investments and the recommended new investments and analyze the costs and benefits of the switch, so that you are reasonably able to demonstrate that the benefits of switching are greater than the costs (COBS 9A.2.18R).
• When providing investment advice to a retail client, provide the client, before the transaction is concluded, with a suitability report in a durable medium that outlines the advice given and how the recommendation is suitable for them, and how it meets their objectives and personal circumstances with reference to the investment term required, their knowledge and experience, and their attitude to risk and capacity for loss, except that where the transaction is concluded by a means of distance communication that prevents prior delivery you may provide the report immediately after the client is bound if the client has consented and you have given the client the option of delaying the transaction to receive it in advance (COBS 9A.3.2R and COBS 9A.3.3R).
• If you provide a periodic assessment of suitability, review the suitability of the recommendations given at least annually, and increase the frequency where appropriate by reference to the client's risk profile and the type of financial instruments recommended (COBS 9A.3.9R).

FCA Handbook, PRIN 2A and Principle 12 · Read the law's page

• It reaches you if you are a firm carrying on retail market business, meaning the regulated activities and ancillary activities, payment services and issuing of electronic money of a firm in a distribution chain that involves a retail customer, or if you communicate or approve a financial promotion addressed to or likely to be received by a retail customer, to the extent you are responsible for determining or materially influencing retail customer outcomes: act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers (Principle 12, PRIN 2.1.1R, and PRIN 3.2.6R to 3.2.7R).
• Act in good faith towards retail customers (PRIN 2A.2.1R); the standard of conduct is set out in PRIN 2A.2.2R and includes fair and open dealing and acting consistently with the reasonable expectations of retail customers.
• Avoid causing foreseeable harm to retail customers, whether by act or omission, in your direct relationship with a retail customer or through your role in the distribution chain (PRIN 2A.2.8R and 2A.2.9R).
• Enable and support retail customers to pursue their financial objectives (PRIN 2A.2.14R).
• If you identify, through complaints, your internal monitoring or any other source, that retail customers have suffered foreseeable harm as a result of your acts or omissions, act in good faith and take appropriate action to rectify the situation, including providing redress where appropriate (PRIN 2A.2.5R).
• Products and services: as a manufacturer, maintain, operate and review a process for approving a product, and significant adaptations of it, before it is marketed or distributed to retail customers, and test products appropriately (PRIN 2A.3.2R and 2A.3.9R); as a distributor, maintain, operate and review distribution arrangements that avoid causing, and where that is not practical mitigate, foreseeable harm to retail customers (PRIN 2A.3.14R).
• Price and value: as a manufacturer, ensure your products provide fair value to retail customers in the target market and carry out and regularly review a value assessment (PRIN 2A.4.2R); as a distributor, do not distribute a product unless your distribution arrangements are consistent with the product providing fair value (PRIN 2A.4.16R).
• Consumer understanding: support retail customer understanding so that your communications meet the information needs of retail customers, are likely to be understood by them and equip them to make decisions that are effective, timely and properly informed, and communicate information in a way which is clear, fair and not misleading (PRIN 2A.5.3R); where appropriate, test communications before use and regularly monitor their impact (PRIN 2A.5.10R).
• Consumer support: design and deliver support to retail customers that meets their needs, including those with characteristics of vulnerability, lets them use their product as reasonably anticipated, includes appropriate friction in customer journeys, and does not put unreasonable barriers in their way during the product lifecycle (PRIN 2A.6.2R).
• Ensure the Consumer Duty is reflected in your strategies, governance, leadership and people policies, and that retail customer outcomes are a central focus of your risk control arrangements under SYSC and of your internal audit function (PRIN 2A.8.1R).
• Regularly monitor the outcomes retail customers receive from your products, your communications and your customer support, in a way that lets you determine whether you are complying with Principle 12 and PRIN 2A.2 and whether any group of retail customers is experiencing different outcomes from another group of the same product (PRIN 2A.9.8R to 2A.9.10R).
• Prepare a report for your governing body on the results of that monitoring and any actions required, and at least annually have the governing body review and approve it, confirm whether it is satisfied that you are complying with the Consumer Duty, and assess whether your future business strategy is consistent with it (PRIN 2A.8.3R and 2A.8.4R).
• Where monitoring shows that retail customers are not receiving the outcomes listed in PRIN 2A.9.9R, that any group is receiving worse outcomes than another for the same product, or that you are not complying with Principle 12 and the cross-cutting obligations, take appropriate action to address the situation (PRIN 2A.9.12R).