Six life insurance firms investigated over poor practice

Six life insurance firms are being investigated by the city regulator after evidence of poor practice was uncovered during a review of the treatment of long-standing ­customers.

Scottish Widows is one of the six companies under investigation. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

Abbey Life, Countrywide, Old Mutual, Police Mutual, Prudential and Scottish Widows are being investigated to determine whether they failed to meet standards and see if further action is needed, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said.

The regulator said it will also take steps to improve firms’ behaviour generally, with plans to reach a voluntary industry solution to capping or removing some charges.

Announcements were made in the FCA’s findings from a review of the fair treatment of “closed-book” customers, who have been with their firm for some time and whose policies are no longer being actively marketed.

The FCA looked at fees for exiting policies as well as paid-up fees, where customers stop paying premiums but are still in the policy. These are the fees it is proposing to cap or remove under a voluntary agreement.

It considered whether closed-book customers can move from products in a fair and reasonable way and whether they receive clear and timely communications.

The review focused on how customers are being treated now, not how the policies were sold in the first place.

For all six firms being investigated, the FCA will focus on the disclosure of exit and paid-up charges after December 2008.

The regulator emphasised that no conclusion has been reached on whether there have been any breaches of regulatory requirements.

Tracey McDermott, acting chief executive of the FCA, said: “We expect all firms with closed-book customers to take into account the findings we have published today and ensure they are treating their closed-book customers fairly.

“The practices at some firms appear to have been poor. We have particular concerns regarding how some firms communicated with their customers about exit and/or paid-up charges.

“We are now doing further work to understand the reasons for these practices, whether customers may have suffered detriment as a result.”