Trudgill issues FCA plea as Consumer Duty regulation comes into force

Biba chief executive Graeme Trudgill hopes the FCA’s new Consumer Duty regulation will “reduce the need” for regulatory interventions in the future.

The duty, which came into force yesterday (31 July 2023), sets out a slew of updated regulations that firms must follow.

Essentially, it requires insurance firms to review their products and services against a new standard of fairness, with companies working hard to measure, analyse and benchmark their performance across a number of different metrics.

These include products and services, fair value, consumer understanding and consumer support.

Trudgill told Insurance Times that this was “one of the most significant pieces of regulation there has been”.

“The hope is, because this has come in, that there will not be the need to have as much new regulation going forwards.

“This is such an all encompassing and comprehensive piece of regulation, [so] we hope this will reduce the need for formal regulatory interventions going forward.”

Engagement

Trudgill was promoted to the association’s top boss last month (4 July 2023) after former chief executive Steve White announced he would be retiring at the Biba conference earlier this year (10 May 2023).

Speaking to Insurance Times following his appointment, he said regulation was a key talking point for brokers and an area where the association would invest in more.

As part of this, Trudgill said he wanted the “Biba’s of this world and our members [to be] consulted before something comes in”.

“One of the things I want to do is get more engagement between the FCA and Biba members,” he said.

“We’ve had a great system with the FCA where we meet them regularly and we talk through issues.

“But in addition to that, it is good that they hear from more members, [so] brokers are really able to tell them what it is like on the front line.”