Broker body fears that life and pensions proposals will 'read across' into GI regulatory regime
Biba has said it supports the Association of Independent Financial Advisers’ (AIFA) calls to ensure that regulatory changes emerging from the FSA’s retail distribution review do not result in professional advice becoming the preserve of the wealthy.
However, while Biba agrees with AIFA, those views are very much focused on the life, pensions and investment sectors.
Biba goes further to warn the FSA that there must be no attempt to 'read across' any regulatory changes that may emerge from the review into the general insurance regulatory regime.
Eric Galbraith, Biba’s chief executive, said: “We do not want to see ideas from this review taken across into the general insurance sector.”
Biba was responding to the FSA’s discussion paper 07/1, entitled ‘A Review of Retail Distribution’, which was published last week.
The paper considers the efficiency of the retail distribution marketplace in the UK as it currently stands and puts forward market proposals to improve it, to the benefit of all participants, particularly consumers.
Biba believes that many of the suggestions put forward will create consumer detriment and will not support or promote independent advice.
Biba is particularly concerned by the FSA’s suggestion that the current definition of ‘independent’ as it is applied to financial advisers is changed.
Galbraith added: “Advice on insurance and assurance products is very important and Biba believes consumers will be even more confused by the proposals for yet more different forms of advice.
"The FSA’s stated objective to ‘find more cost effective ways of making advice available’ also presupposes the suggestion that professional advice is expensive. We do not believe this to be the case.”
Biba will continue to monitor the progress being made by the review and contribute to discussions where they have a bearing on its membership.
