FCA refers six firms to enforcement over exit charges

Further work planned following closed book review

Carmen Reichman
clock • 3 min read

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has referred six firms to its enforcement division for investigation after it found problems with the way they treated their closed-book life insurance clients.

The regulator said in its thematic review published on 3 March it was concerned the firms had failed to inform their customers about exit or paid-up charges on certain policies. The firms being investigated, which make up more than half of the eleven firms sampled, are Abbey Life, Countrywide, Old Mutual, Police Mutual, Prudential and Scottish Widows. The FCA will investigate the firms' behaviour around disclosing exit and paid-up charges to customers after December 2008, when regulatory rules around treating customers fairly took effect. It wants to establish the reasons for the p...

To continue reading this article...

Join Professional Adviser for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, industry insights and market intelligence
  • Stay ahead of the curve with spotlights on emerging trends and technologies
  • Receive breaking news stories straight to your inbox in the daily newsletters
  • Make smart business decisions with the latest developments in regulation, investing retirement and protection
  • Members-only access to the editor’s weekly Friday commentary
  • Be the first to hear about our events and awards programmes

Join

 

Already a Professional Adviser member?

Login

More on Regulation

Non-financial misconduct: Rising expectations and rising exposure

Non-financial misconduct: Rising expectations and rising exposure

'Managers need to know what to look for and what to do in the moment, including when to escalate'

Sarah Jackman
clock 27 May 2026 • 5 min read
FCA must still fix investing culture, says LSE CEO

FCA must still fix investing culture, says LSE CEO

‘We’ve protected people from the downside but we haven’t exposed the upside’

Sophia Panayi
clock 20 May 2026 • 1 min read
FCA increases support for solo-regulated firms

FCA increases support for solo-regulated firms

Scale-up Unit now available to solo-regulated businesses

Jenna Brown
clock 20 May 2026 • 1 min read