CII: ‘Every insurance claimant should be treated as vulnerable’

According to the report, some firms still struggle with defining or identifying vulnerability despite recognising that at the time of an insurance claim most customers are in a vulnerable position. It suggests that ‘every insurance claimant should be treated as vulnerable by default as they are often in stressful situations and lack insurance expertise’.

The roundtable brought together representatives from the Financial Conduct Authority, consumer groups – including Which? and Claim Guardians – the CII’s professional communities and Professional Standards Committee, along with other respected experts to explore how stakeholders can collaborate to raise professional standards in the context of the FCA’s Consumer Duty. The summary document sets out a series of potential interventions to improve customer outcomes, including that ‘boards and leaders need to walk in the shoes of customers – see and hear real personal stories when it goes well and where it goes wrong.’

The summary report is written around a series of themes, including: conflicts of interest; data, technology, AI and governance within firms; inclusivity and vulnerability; accessibility and addressing unmet needs; leadership and culture; and consumer empowerment and transparency.

Suggested interventions include:

• Increased consumer awareness of how insurance works, the different organisations involved, and when each could best respond to their needs.
• Standardisation of product descriptions and provision of simple claims scenarios to help consumers make informed decisions.
• Establish benchmarks for claims settlement times and service quality and communicate these to consumers.
• Firms should carry out bottom-up and top-down assessments of vulnerability across relevant interactions with customers to compare and contrast whether outcomes differ between vulnerable and non-vulnerable customers. This will enable firms to design strategies to address vulnerability when it arises.
• Reward and recognition policies should incorporate ethical behaviours and customer outcomes in addition to commercial targets.

Helen Phillips, CII Group Chair, said: “We believe the findings from our ‘Road to Consumer Trust’ roundtable will resonate with the wider insurance profession. The suggested interventions are the start of a conversation that the CII intends to continue with participants, and we hope many others too, as we look to ensure that the insurance profession is doing all it can to build consumer trust. The FCA’s Consumer Duty rules have provided an important catalyst for careful reflection and an opportunity to improve outcomes. We look forward to working with our members and other stakeholders to bring about change that benefits individuals and wider society.”

‘The Road to Consumer Trust: Professional Standards in the Consumer Duty’ is available here.