ABI

Insurers will face a Government review into strenghtening their adminstration processes to ensure policyholders get fair treatment should a provider go into administration.

Policymakers should focus on making existing regulatory powers work before jumping to extend their remit, or risk damaging UK competitiveness, says the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

The ABI's new director general Kerrie Kelly has urged the FSA to be open-minded and balanced about its judgements on the likely dangers posed to consumers and on what consumers actually want.

Chancellor Alistair Darling has just added another piece to the jigsaw of the financial services industry of the future.

Individual life cover sold direct-to-consumers (D2C) has overtaken sales of the product via intermediaries at Direct Life & Pensions (DLP) for the first time.

Advisers are more aware than ever of structured products but education is the key to them moving from a niche player into the mainstream.

The ABI is considering proposing a protection scheme in which moderate-to-high earners are "encouraged" to buy their own protection rather than rely on state support.

Last week, the financial ombudsman (FOS) published, for only the second time, the number of complaints against authorised firms referred to its office.

The financial ombudsman (FOS) has hit back at criticism of its complaints statistics, saying the data was not designed for consumer use but to encourage firms to handle client grievances more efficiently.

In an effort to increase consumer confidence and engagement in the industry the concept of a protection product quality mark has been suggested. Would you broadly support this idea, and what issues would it raise?