Principle 9

[doolally lady]

I'm sorry if this has been covered elsewhere but I think (hope) this may be of use to some claimers. There were a few items in this that were of particular interest to me, these were 5.1, 5.9, ICOB 4.3.1R, 4.3.2R (1) (3), 4.3.6R (1) (3), and 5.5.1R.
I apologise in advance for the length of the post but I don't know how to do attachments or links.


.ExternalClass .EC_hmmessage P{padding:0px;}.ExternalC lass EC_body.hmmessage{font-size:10pt;font-family:Tahoma;}5. BREACHES OF THE FSA'S PRINCIPLES FOR BUSINESSES AND RULES
Principle 9
5.1 Principle 9 (suitability) provides that:
A firm must take reasonable care to ensure the suitability of its advice and discretionary decisions for any customer who is entitled to rely upon its judgement.

5.2 In considering the standards required under this Principle, the FSA also has considered the specific requirements set out in the part of the FSA Handbook (the Handbook) entitled Insurance: Conduct of Business (ICOB).
5.9 Firms selling PPI must have adequate processes in place to ensure suitable and compliant sales.
5.15 Principle 3 (Management & Control) provides that: A firm must take reasonable care to organise and control its affairs responsibly and effectively, with adequate risk management systems.

THE PRINCIPLES
Principle 3 – A firm must take reasonable care to organise and control its affairs responsibly and effectively, with adequate risk management systems.

Principle 9

– A firm must take reasonable care to ensure the suitability of its advice and discretionary decisions for any customer who is entitled to rely upon its judgment.

THE RULES

Senior Management Arrangements, Systems and Controls
SYSC 3.2.6R Systems and controls in relation to compliance, financial crime and money laundering
A firm must take reasonable care to establish and maintain effective systems and controls for compliance with applicable requirements and standards under the regulatory system and for countering the risk that the firm might be used to further financial crime.
SYSC 3.2.20R Records
(1) A must take reasonable care to make and retain adequate records of matters and dealings (including accounting records) which are the subject of requirements and standards under the . firmregulatory system
(2) Subject to (3) and to any other record-keeping in the , the records required by (1) or by such other must be capable of being reproduced in the English language on paper. ruleHandbookrule
(3) If a records relate to business carried on from an establishment in a country or territory outside the , an official language of that country or territory may be used instead of the English language as required by (2).firm'sUnited Kingdom
Insurance: Conduct of Business
ICOB 4.3.1R Requirement for suitability
(1) An insurance intermediary must take reasonable steps to ensure that, if in the course of insurance mediation activities it makes any personal recommendation to a customer to buy or
sell a non-investment insurance contract, the personal recommendation is suitable for the customer's demands and needs at the time the personal recommendation is made.
(2) The personal recommendation in (1) must be based on the scope of the service disclosed in accordance with ICOB 4.2.8 R(6).
(3) An insurance intermediary may make a personal recommendation of a non-investment insurance contract that does not meet all of the customer's demands and needs, provided that:
(a) there is no non-investment insurance contract within the insurance intermediary's scope, as determined by ICOB 4.2.8 R(6), that meets all of the customer's demands and needs; and
(b) the insurance intermediary identifies to the customer, at the point at which the personal recommendation is made, the demands and needs that are not met by the contract that it personally recommends.
ICOB 4.3.2R Information about the customer's demands and needs
In assessing the customer's demands and needs, the insurance intermediary must:
(1) seek such information about the customer's circumstances and objectives as might reasonably be expected to be relevant in enabling the insurance intermediary to identify the customer's requirements. This must include any facts that would affect the type of insurance recommended, such as any relevant existing insurance;
(2) have regard to any relevant details about the customer that are readily available and
accessible to the insurance intermediary, for example, in respect of other contracts of insurance on which the insurance intermediary has provided advice or information; and
(3) explain to the customer his duty to disclose all circumstances material to the insurance and the consequences of any failure to make such a disclosure, both before the non-investment insurance contract commences and throughout the duration of the contract; and take account of the information that the customer discloses.
ICOB 4.3.5R Information about the customer's demands and needs
If the insurance intermediary is aware that the customer's existing insurance cover is likely to significantly affect the suitability of any personal recommendation that the insurance intermediary might make, the insurance intermediary must either:
(1) not make a personal recommendation until details of the insurance cover are made available to him; or
(2) if it makes a personal recommendation, make clear to the customer that this may not be suitable because the insurance intermediary has not taken into account full details of the existing insurance cover.

ICOB 4.3.6R Assessing the suitability of a contract against the customer's demands and needs

In assessing whether a non-investment insurance contract is suitable to meet a customer's demands and needs, an insurance intermediary must take into account at least the following matters:
(1) whether the level of cover is sufficient for the risks that the customer wishes to insure;
(2) the cost of the contract, where this is relevant to the customer's demands and needs; and
(3) the relevance of any exclusions, excesses, limitations or conditions in the contract.
ICOB 4.4.1R SODAN
(1) Unless ICOB 4.4.2 R applies, where an insurance intermediary arranges for a customer to enter into a non-investment insurance contract (including at renewal), it must, before the conclusion of that contract, provide the customer with a statement that:
(a) sets out the customer's demands and needs;
(b) confirms whether or not the insurance intermediary has personally recommended that contract; and
(c) where a personal recommendation has been made, explains the reasons for personally recommending that contract.

ICOB 4.4.1R SODAN
(1) Unless ICOB 4.4.2 R applies, where an insurance intermediary arranges for a customer to enter into a non-investment insurance contract (including at renewal), it must, before the conclusion of that contract, provide the customer with a statement that:
(a) sets out the customer's demands and needs;
(b) confirms whether or not the insurance intermediary has personally recommended that contract; and
(c) where a personal recommendation has been made, explains the reasons for personally recommending that contract.
(2) The statement in (1) must reflect the complexity of the contract of insurance proposed.
(3) Unless (4) applies, the statement in (1) must be provided in a durable medium.
(4) An insurance intermediary may provide the statement in (1) orally if:
(a) the customer requests it; or
(b) the customer requires immediate cover;
but in both cases the insurance intermediary must provide the information in (1) immediately after the conclusion of the contract, in a durable medium.

ICOB 4.4.7R Record keeping where a personal recommendation is made
(1) An insurance intermediary that makes a personal recommendation to a customer must, if the customer acts on the personal recommendation by concluding the non-investment insurance contract with that insurance intermediary:

(a) unless ICOB 4.4.2 R(1)(b) applies, retain a copy of the statement required by ICOB 4.4.1 R(1); or
(b) if ICOB 4.4.2 R(1)(b) applies, make and retain, in a durable medium, a record of the reasons for the personal recommendation
(2) Both the copy of the statement in (1)(a) and the record in (1)(b) must be retained for a minimum period of three years from the date on which the personal recommendation was made.

[hellhasnofury]

Good informative post, very helpful. thanks for posting