Compliance with FSA regulation is an unavoidable aspect of doing business in the insurance industry and finding a reliable way to meet FSA compliance requirements at a reasonable cost is critical to achieving success.
Our mission is to provide cost effective solutions to assist our clients in meeting or exceeding their regulatory obligations and by doing so improve their business performance and profitability. We summarise this as "Turning Burden into Benefit".
FSA Regulation - Meeting the Challenge
Ensure your your business maintains compliance with Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulations with the competitive edge needed in today's business environment.
Insurance Compliance Services Limited offers cost-effective solutions to help brokers and other insurance intermediaries, including Motor Dealers and Property Managing Agents, meet the challenge and achieve and maintain their FSA compliant status and a competitive edge.
ICS have a range of services to suit your FSA regulation needs; from full service through one-off consultancies to ComplianceExpert: our news and helpline service to support your own in-house compliance function. See our full range of services here.
Call us on 01892 539600 or email enquiries@insurancecompliance.co.uk
Travel Insurance - discounted application fee period starts 30 June 2008
The Financial Services Authority will regulate travel insurance sold alongside a holiday – known as Connected Travel Insurance (CTI) – which is mainly sold by travel firms and holiday providers from 1st January 2009.
The consultation period (Consultation Paper 07/22) ended on the 18th March and the Policy Statement PS08/04 was published on 29 May 2008 which included the final rules.
Travel firms need to decide whether to be authorised by the FSA, become representatives of another authorised firm or no longer offer CTI products. They may also become an unregulated introducer in certain limited circumstances.
Applications for direct authorisation have been accepted from 30 June and will receive a discount of 30% on the standard fee of £1500 as long as the application is received before 30 September.
If you need advice or assistance in this area please call us on 01892 539600 or email enquiries@insurancecompliance.co.uk
Treating customer Fairly (TCF) - update
TCF is the most important issue for intermediaries this year. The FSA are in the middle of a series of roadshows and assessments around the country to check progress against the March 2008 deadline and the rapidly approaching final deadline of December 2008
They have just issued an update report (June 2008) and report the early signs from their first regional assessments are encouraging. They report much greater awareness and engagement on TCF from small firms.
The December deadline requires firms to:
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demonstrate that senior management have instilled a culture within the firm whereby they understand what the fair treatment of customers means; where they expect their staff to achieve this at all times; and where (a relatively small number of) errors are promptly found by firms, put right and learned from;
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be appropriately and accurately measuring performance against all customer fairness issues materially relevant to the business, and be acting on the results;
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be demonstrating through those measures that they are delivering fair outcomes; and
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have no serious failings - whether seen through Management Information (MI) or known to the FSA directly, including in areas of particular regulatory interest previously published by the FSA.
If you have concerns, need clarification or a check on your progress against the deadlines, contact us on 01892 539600 or email enquiries@insurancecompliance.co.uk
Benefit not Burden
Insurance Times, in their ComplianceZone section, have printed a full page article from ICS on "Compliance - Benefit not Burden". To read the full article click here
Proportionate Thinking
Insurance Times, in their ComplianceZone section, have printed a full page article from ICS on "Proportionate Thinking". To read the full article click here
Get a grip of Client Money
Insurance Times, in their ComplianceZone section, have printed a full page article from ICS on "Get a grip of Client Money". To read the full article click here
Proving the system - Evidence
Insurance Times, in their ComplianceZone section, have printed a full page article from ICS on "Proving the sytem". To read the full article click here
ICS is a member of the Association of Professional Compliance Consultants (APCC).
This is the body for compliance consultants who advise firms regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the UK. The APCC is active in enhancing the professional standards of compliance consultants and is recognised as a trade body by the FSA. We subscribe to and actively support the Objectives and Principles of the APCC.
Service Provider of the Year — Highly Commended
Everyone at Insurance Compliance Services (ICS) was proud and delighted to have been highly commended in the Service Provider of the Year category at the 2004 Insurance Times awards.
ICS is a compliance solutions company that assists intermediaries with all aspects of FSA regulation. Our extensive team is made up of highly experienced general insurance professionals, all of whom understand the unique pressures that face the intermediary market.