FCA Renewal Transparency Rules - effective 01/04/2017
You may be aware that on 1st April 2017, the FCA rules on renewals which are intended to increase transparency and promote competition for consumers, will come into effect.
In good time prior to each renewal, the following information must be provided in writing or another durable medium to Consumer policyholders:
a) The premium to be paid on renewal
b) The premium paid for the expiring policy – if there have been MTAs during the period the effect of these must be included with the comparative expiring premium (excluding any admin fees/charges) – i.e. the most recent annualised premium figure
Including statements along the lines of:
a) "You should check that the level of cover offered by this renewal is appropriate for your needs” and
b) "You may wish to compare the prices and level of cover offered by alternative providers”
If the renewal will be the fourth or subsequent renewal (i.e. the 5th year of holding the policy), then statement (b) must be replaced with the following wording (exactly as specified by the FCA):
“You have been with us for a number of years. You may be able to get the insurance cover you want at a better price if you shop around”.
What do you need to do?
You will be responsible for providing this information to your Consumer clients on behalf of Plum and insurers.
However, as a user of the Plum Online Portal (POP) we will provide you with the following information to disseminate to your clients:
- The premium to be paid on renewal
- The premium paid for the expiring policy – if there have been MTAs during the period these will be included with the comparative expiring premium (excluding any admin fees/charges) – i.e. the most recent annualised premium figure
- Number of years the policy has renewed with Plum
You will need to ensure that the required statements are included in documentation sent to your clients:
“You should check that the level of cover offered by this renewal is appropriate for your needs.”
“You may wish to compare the prices and level of cover offered by alternative providers” or “You have been with us for a number of years. You may be able to get the insurance cover you want at a better price if you shop around” (as applicable)
If you have any questions, please get in touch with me using the contact details below.
Alisha Waylen Cert CII
Technical Manager
0345 130 0802 | info@plum-underwriting.com