Annuity Direct has warned the Association of British of Insurers' (ABI) code of conduct on annuity purchase will not be ‘strong enough' to protect consumers or encourage shopping around.
The firm's chairman Alan Higham [pictured] believes the code, which officially launches tomorrow, will be seen as flawed by the Financial Conduct Authority who will be conducting a thematic review on the annuity market. He said the regulator will take issue with the way annuities have been sold in the past. For instance, investment linked annuities sold without advice that assume unrealistic rates of investment returns. As a result, he believes retrospective business reviews will be forced upon members. Higham also said the ABI's code will send "superfluous, confusing and unhelpful in...
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