FOS

The Association of Independent Financial Advisers (AIFA) has hit out at "spiralling" fee rises from the Financial Services Authority (FSA), Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has set its budget for 2012/3 at £191.1m, meaning both the case fee and total levy will be frozen for the third year running.

SUPER IFAs

Collegiate Underwriting has announced a professional indemnity insurance (PII) deal for IFAs, which freezes rates for two years.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has rejected a complaint that an advert for a claims management firm was misleading, after consumer bodies have warned against the firms.

Bupa has become the second insurer to give further clarity about its complaints levels, suggesting providers may want further details to be published by the Ombudsman to put figures into a wider context.

The Association of Independent Financial Advisers (AIFA) has launched a campaign to help advisers protect against long-term liabilities.

Sesame has blamed claims management companies (CMCs) for a near-100% rise in the number of complaints against it being referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

The private medical insurance (PMI) market's two biggest players have seen a rise in the number of complaints escalated to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

When addressing a client's protection needs, most products deal in the term space. But with people potentially outliving these contracts, Owain Thomas looks to whole of life for rejuvenation.