The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed changes to
simplify its rules and lower costs for insurers, while
maintaining appropriate levels of protection for smaller
commercial customers.
The regulator's final rules aim to give more flexibility and
responsibility to insurance firms, such as determining the
frequency of their product reviews and how much continual
professional development (CPD) staff should undertake.
The FCA will make further changes to its insurance rules and cut
unnecessary requirements next year, including reviewing the
international application of its rules and the Consumer Duty.
Separately, the regulator has also published proposals that will
benefit insurers and other firms, including a raft of technical
changes to streamline its rules and reduce complexity following
the introduction of the Consumer Duty. This includes proposals
to:
- remove 3 further insurance data returns
- review eligibility and disclosure rules for packaged bank
accounts (PBA)
- streamline and simplify rules on collective investment client
assets
- remove Handbook references no longer needed now the Consumer
Duty is in force.
The FCA has also set out wider plans to better support smaller
financial firms by creating sector guides to help them apply
outcomes-based regulation, starting with consumer credit firms
next year. The pilot will inform the FCA's longer-term approach
to supporting smaller firms.
Graeme Reynolds, director of competition and interim
director of insurance at the FCA, said:
“We're simplifying and removing rules for insurers and brokers,
reducing regulatory costs and helping them focus on delivering
better outcomes.
“Our focus on smarter regulation is not once and done, and by
using the Consumer Duty we'll continue to look at rules we may no
longer need. We want firms to keep engaging with us on further
simplifications for the insurance sector, so we can support
growth and innovation.”
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