Practical and affordable general insurance compliance support
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ICS is one of the largest providers of general insurance compliance support in the UK but we still believe in offering a one-to-one, personal service to our clients
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We support general insurance brokers of all shapes and sizes, from one man bands to large commercial brokerages, our clients also include Lloyd’s and London market brokers, MGAs, Lloyd’s underwriters, motor dealers and insurers
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We are accepted by the FSA as providers of Section 166 Reports (Skilled Persons Reports) and are Members of the Association of Professional Compliance Consultants (APCC)
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Our staff are highly experienced, combining technical expertise with a practical understanding of how business operates on a day to day basis
For more information on how ICS can help your business call us on 01892 539600 or email enquiries@insurancecompliance.co.uk
For compliance support services for IFAs, friendly societies, stockbrokers and investment managers please click on IFA/Investment compliance support from the drop down menu underneath Business support services on the left hand navigation.
Latest news
FSA individual firm reviews underway
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All firms which advise (or have permission to advise) are included, from sole traders upwards (except for the very largest brokerages)
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Starts with workshops (entitled Business Risk Awareness Workshops - BRAWs) followed by face to face or telephone interview or online/paper-based assessment
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Interviews began in February for North West; interviews starting now in West Country; workshops scheduled for July in West Midlands
- Looking at corporate governance, culture and controls which should lead to effective risk management and prudential control
For more information and to link to the first of our guides on how to prepare for your review click here |
For more on the following please click on the links below or go to our Latest news page
30 April 2012
Foreign insurers
Whether an insurer is FSA authorised, an EEA-incoming firm or based outside of the EEA regulatory system, intermediaries need to be clear, fair and not misleading with their clients about the insurers with which they anticipate doing business as well as those with which they actually place business.
Care is needed in the selection of foreign insurers and firms should check the regulatory status and financial security before entering into agency relationships with them. Intermediaries are more likely to need to undertake appropriate due diligence and security checks on foreign insurers where the insurer is not well-known, is offering unusual covers, is abnormally competitive or is based in a location not known for its developed insurance infrastructure.
Brokers recommending foreign insurers would be well advised to...Read more>
29 March 2012
FSA proposed fees for 2012/13
In February, the FSA published its annual consultation paper on the:
- Allocation of its Annual Funding Requirement (AFR) between fee blocks;
- Fee rates for the forthcoming financial year;
- The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) management expenses levy limit;
- The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) general levy for the forthcoming financial year and its allocation to industry blocks; and
- The Money Advice Service levy for the forthcoming financial year.
The FSA has recognised the difficult economic circumstances for many firms and have committed to keeping any essential cost increases to a minimum. They aim to achieve this by...Read more>
9 March 2012
Reform of Data Protection Legislation
This Hot TopICS offers a very early warning of a planned major reform of the EU legal framework on the protection of personal data announced on 25th January 2012, by Viviane Reding, the EU Justice Commissioner. The new proposals – it is claimed - will strengthen individual rights and tackle the challenges of globalisation and new technologies.
It is ICS’s view that, while the impacts of the reform will not become effective for probably as much as three years, it is as well to be aware of some of the key issues now, since these may have a major impact on brokers and the way in which your systems handle data.
The main consideration for smaller firms is likely to be that wherever consent is required for data to be processed such consent will have to be given explicitly. There is also expected to be more emphasis on the advisability of encrypting data...Read more>
31 January 2012
Proactive regulatory review
The FSA has decided that it is the right time to engage again with regulated firms – including general insurance brokers. Whilst TCF remains an important element of the FSA’s requirements for regulated firms, the emphasis is now on how firms identify, and take steps to manage, potential risks within their business.
The FSA has announced it will travel through the country, region by region, holding workshops and interacting with ALL small advising firms in a number of different ways: face to face at a regional centre, visits to firms or telephone, electronic or postal questionnaires.
This exercise is already underway in the North West and begins in March in the West Country, with the West Midlands to follow; firms will be wise to expect contact from the FSA and to prepare accordingly...Read more>
22 December 2011
Financial Crime – Part 3 – Financial Sanctions and Asset Freezes
This is the third in ICS’s series of updates on the subject of financial crime. In this edition we focus on the UK’s sanctions regime which freezes the UK assets of individuals and businesses (known as ‘targets’) which are subject to financial sanctions. HM Treasury maintains a full list of such targets (the HMT list) which firms can find via this link: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/fin_sanctions_index.htm
While the FSA is not explicitly responsible for a firm’s compliance with financial sanctions restrictions, the requirement for a firm to organise and control its affairs responsibly and effectively would implicitly include the need to have appropriate processes in place to take into account the financial sanctions regime. The lack of adequate systems and controls alone ... Read more>
20 December 2011
Gender Directive
One of the fundamental tenets of the Treaty on European Union,
enshrined in Article 6, was the right of equal treatment between men and
women. This Article recognised and brought into legal effect the
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
Within this Directive, Article 5 prohibited all insurance contracts concluded after 21/12/07 using sex as a factor in calculating premiums and benefits... Read more>
29 November 2011
Financial Crime – Part 2 – Systems and Controls
This is the second in our series of updates on the subject of financial crime, prompted by the thematic work carried out by the FSA in the area of financial crime during which the regulator identified poor levels of compliance. In this Hot TopICS we concentrate on the systems and controls which firms should have in place to mitigate the risk of financial crime occurring. The areas covered are:
- Governance
- Structure
- Risk assessment
- Policies and procedures
- Staff Recruitment, vetting, training and awareness
- Oversight and monitoring
11 November 2011
New rules on selling Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) and Income Protection (IP)
The Competition Commission’s ‘Payment Protection Insurance Market Investigation Order 2011’ introduced a whole raft of measures which affects all forms of PPI including short term IP (but excluding retail PPI). While the Order took effect from 6 April 2011, the main obligations are being introduced in two phases to coincide with the annual government common commencement dates (April 6 and October 1) for new legislation and regulations and to allow sufficient implementation time for providers.
2 November 2011
Treating customers fairly (TCF): A new beginning?
It could be argued that once TCF is fully embedded within a business it need no longer be considered as a separate issue because it becomes the natural way of doing business; recent activity by the FSA may suggest that it is moving towards this view. Evidence for this change in emphasis lies in the new small firms’ regional assessment programme which has just been announced... Read more>
7 October 2011
Financial Crime: A Guide for Firms - Part 1
The FSA has undertaken much thematic work on financial crime and has noted deficiencies in the level of compliance. As a result it is intending to publish a comprehensive guide covering financial crime issues. The FSA is at pains to state that FSA guidance is non-binding and that there is no requirement for firms to... Read more>
9 September 2011
Advertising and Financial Promotions – an up-to-date perspective
The standard of financial promotions is a priority element of the FSA's retail market strategy and its work in this area is part of the overarching treating customers fairly initiative. The numbers of financial services companies forced to amend or withdraw advertising material following FSA intervention has increased this year. In the first quarter of 2011 ... Read more>
23 August 2011
Employers' Liability Tracing Office
FSA rules now require organisations owning Employers’ Liability (EL) liabilities for UK employers (including active and run-off EL insurers) to publish information about EL policies; this also impacts on brokers because they will need to record and supply relevant data. The aim is to help ...Read more >
18 July 2011
Introducers
The knotty issue of introducers has been brought into sharp focus as a result of the FSA’s work on price comparison websites... Read more>
13 July 2011
Price comparison sites and permissions
The FSA has published proposed guidance which could require aggregators and companies which white-label price comparison tools on their own sites to introduce stronger systems and controls. It also sheds new light on ...Read more>
Summary of services
Insurance Compliance Services provides compliance consultancy services to general insurance brokers throughout the UK. We offer full service, ad hoc and web/telephone-based support including assistance with:
- Treating customers fairly
- Conflicts of interest
- Training and competence
- Client money processes and procedures
- Completion of RMAR and other regulatory reporting
- Acting as principal for ARs and introducer ARs (including networks)
- Applying for FSA authorisation
We also offer audits and external reviews including:
- Compliance audits
- File reviews
- Claims audits
- Compliance healthchecks
Our specialist services include:
- Audits of coverholders/binders for the Lloyd’s and London markets
- Support services for coverholders
- TPA audits
- Skilled persons reports (Section 166 Reports)
- E-learning
- HR services
We also offer support services for the investment market through our recommended partners Haven Risk Management who offer services for IFAs, friendly societies, stockbrokers and investment managers.
Geographic coverage
Wherever your business is based the chances are that there is an ICS consultant not too far way; our consultants cover the majority of the UK, including:
- Scotland
- North West
- North East
- Midlands
- South West
- East Anglia
- London
- South East