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Blue front door of a old mansion

 

Consumer Duty

The Consumer Duty (Duty) is the heart of the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) strategy. The Duty aims to provide a higher standard of consumer protection by requiring firms to put their customers' needs first.

The Duty framework has three parts:
 
  • Consumer Principle
    "A firm must act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers."
  • Three cross cutting rules (reflect the overall standards of behaviour expected)
    1.      Act in good faith towards retail customers
    2.     Avoid foreseeable harm to retail customers
    3.     Enable and support retail customers to pursue their financial objectives        
  • Four outcomes (more detailed expectations)
    1.      Products and services - designed to meet needs and sold to those whose needs they meet
    2.     Price and value - cost must represent fair value
    3.     Consumer understanding - right information provided to allow informed decisions
    4.     Consumer support - help available when needed without unnecessary or burdensome obstacles

What you need to know from us

Following an extensive review and a decision taken by Allianz Holdings plc, the Home & Legacy business will be closing.
 
From 4th May 2023 our products are unavailable for new business and renewals and there will be a 12-month run off period for policies that were sold on or before 3rd May 2023. We will be continuing to support our brokers and customers during this period.
 
 
  • We have defined target markets and clearly set out who our products are suitable and not suitable for.
  • To ensure compliance with the FCA General Insurance Pricing Practices Rules we exchanged information with distributors (2022) to assist with our product reviews and fair value assessments - this process continues on an ongoing basis.
Find out more about our Product Oversight and Governance.
The information needs of consumers must be identifed to ensure they receive this information at the right time, can understand it and can know to take suitable action where they need to.
  • We ensure our distributors have the information they require about our products and services in a way which is clear, fair and not misleading and avoiding the use of jargon or technical terms.
  • We continuously monitor and review our product information and general communications to ensure our distributors can provide or present it to their customers in a way that they can understand.
  • We tailor communications where appropriate considering the needs of the intended customers to ensure they are effective in giving the information they need to act and with explanation of the consequences of their action or inaction.
  • We test the most important documents and communications that we use during the customer journey and take the suitable action where needed to improve their clarity.
  • We consider and act on all feedback we receive.

We do not have a direct relationship with our distributors' customers so cannot fully influence the outcome and experience they receive from the information we provide or communicate.

 

Consumers must be given the support they need throughout the lifecycle of the products and services (including those requiring different support needs) so that they can act on their decisions and without facing unreasonable barriers.
  • We give our distributors the support they require to assist their customers. We monitor our support on an ongoing basis to ensure needs of customers are understood and we adapt. We make sure appropriate information is provided or accessible at the right time.
  • We act in good faith on the occasions where an individual customer has received a poor support experience from us. We deal with the issues promptly, take action to remedy any systemic issues and offer redress, where appropriate.
  • We directly manage relationships with the service providers who support our products and services including ensuring they are flexible in their approach and can fully meet the needs of customers with characteristics of vulnerability.
  • We aim to design our processes without unreasonable barriers to ensure customers get the product and services they have paid for.
  • We test our processes and analyse the feedback and complaints we receive to ensure we make continuous improvement.
  • We ensure our staff act appropriately and have the necessary skills to be able to provide the required support to customers.
  • We welcome feedback from distributors to help us to deliver the necessary support to customers and we will act on that feedback.
Home & Legacy Insurance Services Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Allianz Holdings plc and is registered in England number 3007252. Registered office: 57 Ladymead, Guildford, Surrey GU1 1DB. Home & Legacy Insurance Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Financial Services Register number is 307523. Please note that telephone calls may be recorded for training and/or monitoring purposes.