Vulnerable Customers - Implementing Vulnerability Frameworks

Two half-days

22 & 23 July 2026, 09:30-13:00 (UK time)

With up to half of UK adults displaying characteristics of vulnerability at any given time, firms are under intense pressure to transition from reactive, manual procedures to robust, data-driven frameworks. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is actively moving from a regulatory model of prescription to "principles with proof," legally requiring firms to demonstrate that vulnerable cohorts experience outcomes as good as those of non-vulnerable consumers. 

This comprehensive, two-part training event moves beyond basic awareness to equip firms with a rigorous, fact-based implementation strategy. 

Public course booking

Members: £209pp
Non-members: £269pp

To book this workshop for yourself or up to 6 Delegates, please complete the below form:

Corporate (In-house) training

To book this workshop for your company as a corporate (in-house) training session for between 7-16 Delegates, on a date that's convenient for you, please complete the below form to register your interest:

Summary

Dates: 22 & 23 July 2026

Timings: 09:30-13:00 (UK time)

 Duration: 3.5 hours

 No of attendees: Up to 14

Format: Online - Virtual delivery

CPD: Recognised

 Trainer: Steve Fairclough (Elf Education)

 Price: Members: £209 / Non-members: £269

Workshop Overview

Part 1 establishes the structural and conceptual foundations of vulnerability, training participants to identify, quantify, and map customer circumstances against firm activities to mitigate foreseeable harms.

Part 2 addresses the technical and operational realities of compliance while managing UK GDPR concerns, to demonstrate how firms can design secure data taxonomies, implement role-based tiered access, and build robust Board-level reporting frameworks that allow you to demonstrate with evidence that vulnerable cohorts are achieving fair value and equitable product outcomes.

This workshop is designed to provide you with practical techniques and a clear framework for managing Vulnerability.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Deconstruct the four regulatory drivers of vulnerability—health, life events, low resilience, and low capability—into specific, actionable risk indicators.
• Evaluate and record customer vulnerability on a structured, non-binary scale of severity rather than using restrictive "yes/no" labels.
• Construct a Harm Mitigation Map that traces the explicit interaction between a consumer's circumstances and a firm's operational touchpoints.
• Execute all stages of the CII’s 6-Step Operational Framework: proactive Identification, target market Quantification, continuous Monitoring, tailored Support, product Adaptation, and outcome Reporting.
• Architect a UK GDPR-compliant data taxonomy that clearly separates underlying customer circumstances from specific operational support needs (with specific alignment to the CII GDPR Guidance launched June 2026).
• Deploy a tiered, role-based access control framework that protects sensitive special-category data while ensuring front-line staff retain necessary operational visibility.
• Configure automated, data-driven system triggers that flag vulnerability indicators via transaction anomalies, authentication failures, or trusted third-party registers.
• Formulate firm-wide Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) to quantify and compress the "vulnerability value gap" using the Edmonds Matrix to distinguish between simple customer experience and genuine outcome indicators.
• Operationalise value-chain data sharing and execute mandatory notification protocols under rule PRIN 2A.2.22 R when distribution partners fail to comply.

What will I get by attending the workshop? 

• An evidential understanding of regulatory vulnerability rules and how they align with the firm's broader compliance and Consumer Duty obligations. 
• The practical technique to objectively classify, document, and query dynamic customer needs without relying on speculative, free-text note-taking or compromising data accuracy standards. 
• A reusable framework for conducting root-cause analysis on how firm touchpoints or complex processes inadvertently create structural friction ("sludge") that exacerbates personal vulnerabilities. 
• A technical blueprint for structuring searchable, secure, and compliant databases capable of tracking vulnerable cohorts and setting proportionate review frequencies over the long term. 
• Practical designs for multi-channel digital and non-digital self-disclosure facilities that actively reduce barriers to consumer declaration. 
• An objective RACI template to clearly document vulnerability governance across IT, HR, Compliance, Marketing, and Senior Leadership, paired with an auditing framework to measure the operational efficacy of training initiatives.

Who should attend?

This course is designed for those responsible for designing policies, systems and frameworks for vulnerability management across organisations within the insurance and personal finance sectors. 

This includes compliance officers, data protection officers, IT systems architects, vulnerability leads, and customer experience professionals, as well as Senior Managers holding ultimate accountability under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR)

Corporate Solutions

As part of our commitment to advancing professional standards within the sector, the CII offers a comprehensive suite of training and development solutions. These are designed to provide a structured, collaborative approach to skills enhancement, fully aligned with our internationally recognised Professional Map.  We offer workshops covering exam revision, technical training and business and leadership topics. 

Whether you're looking to upskill employees, support career progression, or drive business success, our bespoke training solutions can elevate and future proof the competencies required across your workforce. 

A full list of courses can be viewed in our Training Catalogue.

Public course booking form

Corporate (In-house) training

Interested in other courses?

For enquiries about this course, please email to: business.enquiries@cii.co.uk

Please note: The price of the workshop is based on British Pound Sterling (GBP). The purchase price will be processed using the relevant international currency conversion rate at the point of sale. Contact us for further information.

CII workshops are sold on a first come first serve basis, and therefore availability may change, depending on the number of bookings received. Once a workshop becomes full, the above date will no longer be available, and new dates will be published.

We reserve the right to postpone the above workshop dates, subject to a minimum number of bookings received. Your booking will only be confirmed, once payment has been processed and you receive a booking confirmation email from the training team.

Can't attend on this date? Register your interest in other training workshops and future dates.

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