What is Consumer Duty?

Consumer Duty defines the level of care that firms are obligated to provide to customers in retail financial markets.

Consumer Principle

Firms are required to strive for favourable outcomes for retail customers by operating with integrity. This involves conducting business honestly, fairly, transparently, and in alignment with customers' reasonable expectations.

Cross-Cutting Rules

1. Act in good faith towards retail customers.

2. Prevent foreseeable harm to retail customers.

3. Facilitate and encourage retail customers in achieving their financial goals.

Four Outcomes

1. Products and Services

2. Price and Value

3. Consumer Understanding

4. Consumer Support

This is made up by the following components:

The Consumer Principle, Principle 12, requires firms to ‘act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers’.

Three cross-cutting rules outline how firms should act to achieve positive outcomes for customers.

These Are:

Acting in good faith

This standard of conduct is defined by honesty, fairness, transparent dealings, and alignment with customers' reasonable expectations.

Avoid causing foreseeable harm

Firms should both proactively and reactively prevent harm to customers through their actions, products, or services whenever they have the ability to do so.

Enable and support customers to pursue their financial objectives.

Firms must prioritize both proactive and reactive efforts to empower customers to make decisions aligned with their needs and financial goals.

The four outcomes cover the crucial aspects of the firm-customer relationship:

• Products and services outcome: All offerings must be tailored to fulfil customers' needs, characteristics, and objectives, and distributed accordingly.

• Price and value outcome: Beyond mere price, value assessment ensures a reasonable correlation between the cost and the benefit received by the customer.

• Consumer understanding outcome: Communications should furnish customers with essential information, aiding them in making informed decisions regarding financial products and services.

• Consumer support outcome: This involves providing support that caters to customer needs, including vulnerable individuals; ensuring products are used as intended; mitigating risks; minimizing barriers; monitoring support quality; and promptly addressing any issues that arise.

Who does Consumer Duty apply to?

The Consumer Duty is cross-sector and applies to all FCA regulated companies providing products or services to retail customers.

Culpeck Insurance Services Limited Consumer Duty Statement

At Culpeck Insurance Services Limited we are committed to ensuring that we:

• Place customers at the forefront of our operations, focusing on delivering favourable outcomes.

• Offer products and services tailored to meet customers' needs and ensure fair value.

• Engage and communicate with customers to enable them to make well-informed decisions promptly.

• Avoid exploitation of customers' behavioural biases, lack of knowledge, or vulnerabilities.

• Assist customers in realizing the benefits of the products and services they acquire through us.

• Consistently considering customer needs and behaviour at every stage of the product/service lifecycle.

• Regularly monitoring and review customer outcomes, taking necessary actions to mitigate risks.

• Continuously learn from a heightened focus on actual customer outcomes.

We are confident that our plans and focus on good customer outcomes mean Culpeck Insurance Services Limited will comply with the expectations of the Consumer Duty for 31 July 2023 and beyond.

Last Updated/Reviewed 18th April 2024