Chaper 9 Underwriting and premium payment Flashcards
The process of acquiring information/providing a quotation in response to the insurance enquiry and the subsequent negotiations leading to the final issue of policy documentation is under whose jurisdiction
Its under the FCA and its rules are contained in the ICOBS Insurance Conduct of Business Source book
Along the whole insurance process, there is a requirement for Contract certainty, which is defined as
The complete and final agreement of all terms between the insured and insurer by the time they enter into the contract, with contract documentation provided promptly thereafter
What impact have the ICOBS and Contract Certainty have had on insurance
They have had an impact on the provision of information, the process and on timing
What factors cause the insurance process to differ
The process will differ according to
- Nature of the Contract
- Whether an intermediary is involved
Which is a more complex procedure
When the intermediary is involved the procedure is complex
What is the difference in procedure when an intermediary is not involved and when they are involved
Similar rules will apply to the insurer in relation to the provision of advice exception would be those that relate to aspects of agency/provision of independent advice
What are the categories of intermediaries in the insurance market place
- Appointed Representatives
- Introducer Appointed Representatives
- Wholesale Broker.Intermediary
Who is an Wholesale Broker/Intermediary
This term is not defined by regulators but is used to describe an authorized person used to access a particular market usually Lloyd’s or the London market. A supply chain is created effectively
Do wholesale intermediary have regulatory responsibility for dealing with the customers with client facing intermediary
No, regulatory responsibilities do not pass along this chain
Intermediaries that are FCA authorized person carry on their business under which agreement
Under the terms of business agreements (TOBA)
There are two principle types of TOBA which are
- TOBA entered with clients
2. TOBA individually entered into with insurers and if the intermediary is a Lloyd’s broker with Lloyd’s syndicates
TOBA entered with insurers/Lloyd syndicate include which details
- Determinde the nature of the relationship
- Authority levels
- Financial aspects
- The risk transfer arrangements between intermediary and the insurer
What does granting of risk transfer for TOBA with insurers mean
This means the acceptance by the insurer/underwriter that once monies is collected by the intermediary it’s treated as if it’s been paid to the insurer
Who in an intermediary maintains documents of risk transfer between intermediary and insurer
Compliance officer
TOBA between intermediary and client will consist of
- identify the service to be provided by the intermediary
- terms of credit if any
- may incorporate a service-level agreement
What is a service level agreement (SLA)
this is a kind of a client charter, explaining the standards to which intermediary will operate
What will be in a Service Level Agreement
response times for enquirers/complaints/claim notification
What convenience does service level agreement have
It is a convinient way of conveying all the required information to clients both in areas of FCA compliance and other client/intermediary response
Are the TOBA used for consumers and commercial consumers different
A different TOBA is used for Consumers(personal customers) than that used for commercial customers so as to meet regulatory requirements
How does the TOBA for consumer differ from that TOBA of commercial consumer
For TOBA with consumer clients, the client benefits from greater protection provided by wider ranging rules, where by one with commercial consumer they are entitled to more limited range of rules
If the status of the person is unclear, what type of customer will the insurer/intermediary assume
They will assume its a consumer client
If the perosn is acting in the capacity of both consumer and commercial customer what type of customer will the insurer/intermediary assume
They will assume they are commercial client
What is an intial disclosure document
This is a document that has details of certain information about the intermediary and its services
What happened to the initial disclosure document
It was provided in the handbook until 27/03/2017 when it was withdrawn and abolished
After Abolishment of initial disclosure document how is information about the firm disclosed
Information can now appear in such documents with headings like client agreement or terms of business and status disclosure letter
What information is required to be disclosed about the intermediary
1.Name and address of the company
2.The fact that it’s included in the Financial Services Register
3.Ownership
whether it owns more than 10% of an insurer or an insurer owns more than 10% of it
4.Who to write to if the customer has a complaint
5.Does it give advice based on a fair analysis of the market?
Is it under an exclusive contractual obligation to one or more insurers to place the business with them
Does it give a more limited advice than fair market analysis
What must an intermediary consider when making a claim that it provides advice on the basis of a fair market analysis
They must consider a sufficiently large number of contracts of insurance before making any recommendation
The assessment of fair market analysis must be made upon which factors
They must be made upon professional criteria and reflect an adequate knowledge of insurance policies in the relevant sector of the market
How must intermediary provide information to client
Intermediary must provide information on paper or durable medium, clearly, accurately and in the language of the state of the commitment
When can a client receive information orally
Unless the client has requested the information orally or immediate cover is necessary, however the paper version must be sent immediately after the conclusion of the contract
Who governs distance communication of the intermediary to the consumer
The Distance Marketing Directive and the FCA has separate set of rules
Where does the FCA separate rules of distance communication and distance marketing directive apply to
The rules apply only to organised distance sales or service-provision scheme. Also where sales are made exclusively under an organised scheme and where this is the only permitted means of communication
Provided the client’s explicit consent has been provided, what is the minimum restricted information that can be given to the client
- the identity of the person and their link to the firm
- a description of the main characteristics of the financial services
- the total price including all the taxes to paid through the firm
- notice of the possibility of other taxes or costs that may exist
- existence/absence of a right to cancel, its duration/condition for excising it and any payments to be made for exercising it
- the other information is available on request and its nature
Who must establish the demand and the need of the client
The intermediary must establish this before providing any recommendation
Its straightforward to develop demand and need form for consumers however for commercial customer its more complex, what have intermediaries developed
Intermediaries have developed their own demand and need analysis form, often in a form of a checklist
How does intermediary own developed demand and need analysis form assist them
It assist them to facilitate the process of establishing sufficient information to enable quotations to be obtained and advice to be provided
When recommending regarding the sale or cancellation of a policy, what must an intermediary ensure
They must ensure the suitability of the advice provided for the client’s demand and needs at the time
For pure protection policies what specific guideline has the FCA stated
It’s stated that the intermediary must establish the customer’s demands and needs by obtaining further relevant information from the customer, including details of existing insurance cover
If a client is requesting other cover apart from pure protection policies,what must suitability take into account
Suitability must take into account the level of cover and cost,relevant exclusions, excesses, limitations and conditions. and inform the customer of any demand and needs that are not met
What’s the other additional requirement for protection polices
The customer should only buy a policy under which they are eligible to claim benefit. This being prompted by many consumer complaints especially on payment protection indemnity contracts
When must an intermediary provide client with a statement of the clients’ demands and needs
They must provide it before the conclusion of a contract, and where a personal recommendation has been made intermediary must explain the reason for the recommendation
how does the amount of information in the statement vary
It varies significantly from policy to policy, the intention should always be clear and concise. The complex the policy the greater the level of explanation than a relatively straightforward, small, personal insurance policy
For policies personally recommended from the intermediary, how is the statement of demands and needs treated
- the statement can be included within product document stating who it is appropriate for
- a record of their demands and needs as discussed
- key features document, describing the product’s key features
- the statement can be included in the proposal form
Is commission disclosure mandatory
The FCA doesn’t currently require mandatory disclosure of commission as part of quotation presentation
Are fees by the intermediary required to be disclosed
Separate fees to be charged by the intermediary either instead of commission or in addition to commission must be stated
If a commercial customer specifically regards information on commission,whats shall an intermediary do
Intermediary must disclose the commission in writing or other durable medium of the total remuneration
When an intermediary is disclosing commission, FCA rules makes it clear that it should include
Intermediary
must include any financial benefit that it receives from insurers from encouraging greater placing of business(volume overrides), profit share arrangements(associated with delegated authority schemes and financial benefit intermediary receives from premium financing arrangement
The commission disclosure rule is in addition to which general law
The general law on the fiduciary obligation of an agent in that it applies whether or not an intermediary is an agent of the commercial customer
Insurance Distribution Directive 2016/97/EC(IDD) was a replacement of which directive
The IDD revised and replaced the Insurance Mediation Directive 2002/92/EC (IMD)
What is the aim of the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD)
The aim is
- to make it easier for firms to trade across borders
- strengthen policyholder protection
- provide a level playing field
How does the IDD provide consumer protection in insurance
The scope of regulation is increased to include all firms that sell/advise on/conclude insurance contracts and those who assist in administering and performing them including those who introduce insurance and those that shortlist as part of the selection process(aggregators)
What are the key provision of the IDD(read book chp 9 pg 153)
- Professionalism- complete at least 15 hrs of professional training or development per year
- Commission Disclosure
- Harmonization- IDD is a minimum harmonization directive
- New product governance requirement- in line with the FCA’s
- New category of insurance settler known as the Ancillary Insurance Intermediaries
- New duties apply to insurance companies selling products through companies not authorized by the FCA
- Requirement for all General insurance firms in retail and small corporate market to provide customers with insurance product information documents
Harmonization as a key provision of IDD what does it allow
The IDD harmonization allows Member states to set stricter requirement (gold plate) if they deem this necessary
What do Ancillary Insurance Intermediaries include
This includes connected travel insurance providers that don’t sell/introduce insurance as their main b’ness, but still do so, thus subject to the selling rules
The FCA has specific rules relating on protection contracts, what do these rules impose
These rules impose strict requirement on those offering such contracts to ensure the product is suitable for the customer where a recommendation is being made or to ensure that they fully understand what is on offer and the fact that the choice is theirs to make where no recommendation is being made by the intermediary
What are the two categories that protection polices fall into
Pure Protection and payment protection
What is Pure Protection polices
These are insurance contracts in which benefits are payable only on death/in respect of incapacity due to injury,sickness or infirmity
What do Pure Protection polices include
They include certain life policies, that don’t have a saving element and critical illness polices
What is Payment Protection polices
These are insurance contract where the benefits are designed to protect a policyholder’s ability to continue to make payments they owe to third parties
What are Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
These are systems whose function is to obtain quotation for prospective policyholders
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is most common in which type of policies
Motor policy and household policy
What is the objective for EDI in the intermediary viewpoint
There is to input data only once but to then receive the benefit of a range of quotations from the insurance market