Regulatory Compliance Services

For All Your Regulatory Compliance Needs

Meeting your responsibilities can be a challenge in a heavily regulated industry. Regardless of the size and shape of your business, you need to be comfortable that all your bases are covered.

Whether you need support for a single project or ongoing mentoring, our 20+ years experience as FCA compliance consultants will ensure that your compliance operations are simple, efficient and more thorough than ever before. We can offer comprehensive compliance support partnerships which offers Brokers ongoing access to the expertise and resources required to reduce risk on an ongoing basis. If you are just looking for some one off assistance or help/advice, we can offer an array of service on a one off basis. From Product Value and Consumer Duty, to Getting FCA Authorised and support with Acquisition Due Diligence, ICS can support you with a long list of insurance compliance matters. 

For more information take a look at our ICS Brochure or get in touch with a member of our insurance compliance team.

Our Regulatory Compliance Services

We offer a range of regulatory compliance services to support you in any way you might need:

If you would like information or would like to speak to one of our FCA compliance consultants, please call us on 01892 539600 or email enquiries to us at: enquiries(at)insurancecompliance.co.uk
 

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Make an Enquiry

If you have any questions about our Regulatory Compliance Services, or would like to make an enquiry to arrange a chat with one of our Regulatory Compliance Consultants, please complete the form below.

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Discover More About Our Regulatory Compliance Services

Click on the sections below to learn more about our Regulatory Compliance Services. To discuss how ICS can help you and your compliance needs, call us on 01892 539600 or email enquiries(at)insurancecompliance.co.uk.

When you come to us for support with your FCA application, we'll ensure everything is completed as quickly as possible and avoiding any delaying errors. From completion of forms to setting up the required systems, we'll be there every step of the way. 

As regulatory compliance services specialists, ICS has considerable experience in helping firms prepare and apply for authorisation. Whether you're a new start-up, experienced broker striking out on your own for the first time or an Appointed Representative, we think you'll find our FCA authorisation service of benefit.

Our aim for this service is to break down the process into small, manageable stages to make this as easy as possible for you. We know from experience that brokers can feel overwhelmed by FCA terminology and the submission system, so we do as much of the form-filling for you as possible. All of our consultants are familiar with the FCA Connect system and can support in this way.

We also cover application for Senior Manager status, including the setting up of all processes and even training if required.

Our getting FCA authorised service includes:

  • Determining the different FCA forms that will be relevant to the firms application
  • Help completing application forms and producing supporting documentation eg Business Plan
  • Inputting information into FCA Connect system
  • Assistance with applying for Senior Manager status
  • Setting up relevant systems and procedures including compliance manuals
  • One to one advice from a dedicated FCA compliance consultant

Read more about Getting FCA Authorised

In light of Covid-19, and as part of their overall ongoing oversight, the FCA is undergoing work to determine how firms determine the value of the products designed and distributed can expect to be of value to the end consumer - Insurance Product Value.

As part of this work, they have required insurers and other firms regarded as product manufacturers to complete a detailed information request looking at how they assess and monitor their product value. 

The review's main purpose is to assess firms' actions and their customer outcomes in relation to the 2020 guidance, 'Product Value and Coronavirus'. It covers the firms' response to the pandemic, but also wider concerns around governance, conduct and culture that were raised in an earlier study of General Insurance Distribution Chains (FG 19/5).

ICS are able to assist firms in ensuring they can evidence matters such as:

  • Products reviews where the firm has made material changes to premiums
  • Specific board/committee reports where product vale has been discussed
  • Stopping writing new business
  • Changing the cover provided
  • Management information used to determine value of products
  • Remuneration arrangements
  • Co-manufacturing agreements
  • Claim frequencies and loss ratios

Our FCA assistance in this area covers support to submit the correct information, practice responses before a visit, and on-site support during an investigation. We can also review team or individual files to ensure compliance and ascertain if procedures are followed correctly. 

If you are able to identify areas where your business could be handled better, our experienced consultants can guide you. We gather information from your team, review your processes and documentation and use examples of best practice to illustrate how any improvements can be achieved. 

A report with your prioritised action plan and a full verbal debrief will help you address any issues identified.

Read more about Product Value

The deadline for FCA's Consumer Duty was July 31st 2023, however there are still Brokers who are struggling to meet the requirements. ICS can support you by undertaking an audit or gap analysis of existing processes, and assist in the preparation of the implementation plan. We have supported many firms with Consumer Duty even after the July 2023 deadline, and can work with you to ensure the process is as smooth as possible.

The FCA's Consumer Duty is its response to their ongoing concerns about how consumers are treated and the experience they receive, rather than solely their fair treatment. The FCA expects firms to focus on customer outcomes and how best to achieve a positive experience, considering each customer's needs and tailoring their journey accordingly.

There is a significant amount of work to be undertaken by firms to plan and initiate any changes required to the customer journey, documentation and management information, in addition to existing deadlines for product governance documentation and reporting. Any firm wishing more assistance with the Consumer Duty should contact us asap.

In summary, the four required outcomes of the new Consumer Duty rules according to the PRIN 2A are:

  • Products and Services: all products and services for retail customers to be fit for purpose, designed to meet consumers’ needs, and targeted at those consumers. 
  • Price and Value: consumers to receive fair value. This outcome is very much in line with the FCA’s insurance pricing ‘fair value’ requirement.
  • Consumer Understanding: firms’ communications must support and enable consumers to make informed decisions about financial products and services; consumers must be given the information they need, at the right time, and presented in a way they can understand. Similar requirements are already in place in ICOBS.
  • Customer Support: firms must provide a level of support that meets consumers’ needs throughout their relationship with the firm.

Read more about Consumer Duty

For firms selling:

Improving regulatory health is something we do for all our firms on an ongoing basis, but when a firm plans to refinance or sell in a specific timeframe then we work with them to identify areas where value can be impacted. Our practical and confidential advice aims to lower the acquisition risk of a business while maximising value to your investor(s). 

Increasing buyer confidence by shaping up your systems, controls and procedures in these areas makes for a more attractive vendor and potentially a higher valuation and more competitive sales process. 

Regulatory compliance issues that can affect value include:

  • lack of non-financial management information
  • approach to, and administration of client money
  • how client files are maintained
  • culture
  • data and IT controls
  • PI risks
  • treatment of clients and, in particular, approach to delivering fair value and the FCA Consumer Duty

For firms acquiring:

Due diligence is a critical step when buying an intermediary, involving a comprehensive investigation and assessment to understand its financial, operational, regulatory, and legal status. We're often asked to conduct regulatory due diligence in three scenarios:

  1. At the point the acquiring firm has signalled it’s intention to buy but before the completion of the Sale & Purchase Agreement;
  2. Before the vendor wishes to signal his intention to sell in the market generally, in preparation; and
  3. As part of the succession planning of the intermediary where they wish to understand what they need to do to improve the regulatory health of their business, knowing they have some time to make the required changes.

Read more about Pre-Acquisition Due Diligence

Becoming an Appointed Representative of another authorised entity is often the first step towards becoming an insurance broker. The process can be can be a quicker, less costly option than direct authorisation, making it a very appealing when you're keen to begin trading quickly. Support for Appointed Representatives is a key part of our regulatory compliance services.

However, with a few years experience you may want to begin thinking about direct authorisation and whether it is right for you. 

The benefits of direct FCA authorisation are:

  • Autonomy of decision making and to progress the business in the direction the firm requires without approval from the Principal
  • You can independently establish insurance arrangements and wider third party arrangements without agreements first being in place with the Principal
  • You can take a proportionate, risk based approach to setting your compliance framework and systems and controls and not a one size fits all approach determined by the Principal
  • Reduction in payaway of fees and commissions to Principal

Applying for FCA authorisation is not as challenging or as costly as you might think. ICS has considerable experience assisting firms in a variety of different ways, from extensive support completing all the documentation to reviewing and editing what firms have already prepared (and everything in between).

With ICS helping you on your journey to direct authorisation, you will have support to complete your forms and documentation, help to set up your required systems and controls and more. We'll ensure the process is completed as quickly as possible while avoiding errors and delays.

Read more about Appointed Representatives

When it comes to regulatory compliance services, staff training is a key part of ensuring the continued professional development of your team. ICS offers both face to face and digital online training solutions through our Compliance E-Learning Platform.

ICS have experienced compliance consultants who have delivered group and one to one training and examples of recent events include:

  • Webinars to clients on regulatory developments
  • Annual refresher training on regulatory requirements to a UK wide team of broking executives
  • Financial Crime awareness training to staff
  • Compliance Officer role training to new recruit

Please contact us at enquiries(at)insurancecompliance.co.uk if you would like to discus Conduct Rules training or any other regulatory training requirements you might have.

Read more about Staff Training

As part of our regulatory compliance services, our Corporate Responsibilities Service will help your firm to review its governance arrangements and identify and address any weaknesses in board structure and performance or business systems and controls. It can also provide robust and effective risk identification and management systems and help plug skills and competence gaps in key staff.

Insurance Compliance Services can help with Corporate Responsibilities through:

  • Corporate governance
  • Systems and controls
  • Identifying, assessing and managing risk
  • Personal mentoring, training and development

To discuss how our Corporate Responsibilities Service can help your business please call us on 01892 539600 or email enquiries to us at: enquiries(at)insurancecompliance.co.uk

Download our corporate responsibilities brochure

Read more about Corporate Responsibilities

As an industry, Insurance has lagged in terms of getting their HR landscape truly fit for purpose. This is now recognised by the FCA and PRA, who are focusing more heavily on how staff are treated, how companies manage their workforce and how they lead the way to change.

The right HR partner can help you with developing your business strategy, making sure that you have the right people in the right places and they will make sure that whether your goal is to exit, grow organically, or acquire, that you do it in a way which will maximise the opportunities for you whilst you lead from the front.

As part of our Regulatory Compliance Services, ICS offers Insurance HR Support ensuring you have all the basics covered such as employment contracts and employee handbooks, and we can help you build a recruitment and talent management strategy to match your goals and reduce your risk.

Our partners at IHRS have created unique flexible solution for growing your business, for the fraction of the cost of employing a dedicated HR person. The team at IHRS will take on the HR work you need, so that you can get on with what you do best, running and developing your business and your customer relationships.

Read more about HR Support

Insurance Compliance E-Learning

Our E-learning platform includes more than 200 courses, covering a variety of subjects such as compliance, personal development, technical insurance and general business skills. With a simple enrolment system and unrivalled flexibility, ease of use and reporting, it couldn't be easier to ensure the continued upskilling of your staff. And for your staff, the system provides an easy to navigate and adaptable way to enjoy their learning, with a choice of formats and bespoke learning paths for added autonomy.

Our Insurance Compliance E-Learning system offers:

  • Mobile, tablet, and desktop (PC and Mac) compatibility
  • 24/7 access to more than 200 high-quality courses
  • Interactive content that is regularly updated
  • Automatic CPD record keeping & ability to add external CPD hours
  • Customised learning paths for individual learners with planning, prioritising, and scheduling capabilities
  • End-of-course quizzes to test knowledge retention
  • Certificates for learning & quizzes that can be branded with your logo
  • Learning content that assists with professional qualifications
  • Ability to add bespoke content - your own or created to order*
  • Can be rebadged with your own branding and accessed via your own website*
*Additional costs may apply
 

We’re so confident you’ll love ICS E-learning that we offer a FREE two week trial.
 

Get Your FREE Trial   More on E-Learning

Regulatory Compliance Updates


Keep on top of everything you need to know about regulatory compliance services news and topics with our Regulatory Compliance Updates. If you have any questions please call us on 01892 539600, or email us at enquiries(at)insurancecompliance.co.uk.

Ensuring Fair Product Value with an Insurance Fair Value Assessment
9 Oct 2024

As part of the product approval process, manufacturers (insurers) of insurance products must determine whether the products they bring to the market offer fair value, and perform a fair value…

Read More
FCA Consultation on Consumer Credit Regulatory Returns - CP24/19
9 Oct 2024

The FCA is consulting (CP24/19) on proposals to issue a new regulatory reporting return (CCR009) which will capture firms with a credit broking Permission, and which will also impact firms which carry…

Read More
FCA publishes a speech calling for a change in mindset on financial inclusion
25 Sept 2024

The FCA has published a speech, delivered by Nikhil Rathi, FCA Chief Executive, on 19th September 2024, at StepChange Connected 2024 at the Aspire building in Leeds. Rathi noted that the building was…

Read More
FCA publishes a ‘Price and Value Outcome: Good and Poor Practice’ update
25 Sept 2024

The FCA has published a web page regarding insights from the first year of the implementation of the price and value outcome under the Consumer Duty, which is intended to help firms improve the way…

Read More
FCA Thematic Review TR24/2: product oversight and governance – overview, distributors and manufacturers
16 Sept 2024

Following a review of general insurance (GI) and pure protection (PP) manufacturers’ and distributors’ product oversight and governance arrangements, the FCA has published a Thematic Review – TR24/2 –…

Read More
FCA publishes Consultation Paper regarding Consumer Credit Regulatory Returns
16 Sept 2024

The FCA has published a consultation paper regarding consumer credit reporting. The FCA wants to improve the information it collects from firms, so that it can better understand firms’ consumer credit…

Read More

How Can We Help?

We offer up to two initial consultations without charge, to determine the exact nature of your challenges/concerns. If you would like to try out some of our services before committing we can offer a demo of our Compliance Portal, samples of our Hot TopICS or attendance at one of our Webinars. Thereafter we will agree which of our services are most likely to help you most with your regulatory requirements, agree a package of support (or a one-off project) and submit a proposal for review. Before, of after, you decide to go ahead, we will introduce you to the Consultant(s) who will agree a diary of contact at times to suit you both.

Please call us on 01892 539600, email us at enquiries(at)insurancecompliance.co.uk, or send us a message using the form for more information or to make an enquiry about any of our compliance services.

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DR&P Group have been working with ICS for the last 3 years, supporting the group in several key areas of compliance. Whilst ICS primarily support us on our London Market business following our first Lloyd’s Broker acquisition, they have been able to provide support across a broad spectrum of compliance issues including audits, training and the management of Appointed Representatives.

We have been impressed with ICS ability to interpret regulatory change, their depth of knowledge and most importantly, the way that they complement and work in tandem with our own internal compliance department and our business leaders.
Tom Storer DR&P Group
I wholeheartedly recommend the services that ICS provide. ICS, through Elly, has spent time to understand our business and provides guidance and support to negotiate the regulatory landscape. Elly is hugely knowledgeable, approachable, and responsive, and happy to answer questions.

ICS is pro-active in the regulatory space, providing numerous resources including highly relevant bulletins, seminars and webinars. Overall a pleasure to deal with.
Specialist Insurance Broker South West England
The guidance received from ICS helped us navigate compliance issues with ease, ensuring that we met all regulatory standards efficiently. The practical solutions they provided have greatly improved our compliance processes and minimised our risk exposure.

We highly recommend ICS to any organisation seeking expert compliance advisory services. Their professionalism, expertise, and commitment to excellence are truly unmatched. Thank you for your support!”
Specialist Intermediary South East England
In August 2023 we engaged ICS for compliance advisory services, and the experience has been outstanding. Their deep knowledge and understanding of regulatory requirements have been invaluable to our organisation.

From the very beginning, Elly at ICS demonstrated a thorough understanding of our industry’s unique challenges and tailored her approach to meet our specific needs. In addition, the whole ICS team has been proactive, detail-oriented, and always available to address any concerns or questions we had.
Specialist Intermediary South East England
We highly value the regular updates which explain the actions we need to take. These help us anticipate and accommodate regulatory changes and maintain compliance. Insurance Business Owner
We particularly appreciate our dedicated compliance consultant’s visits. He is a key part of our team and helps us feel confident. Insurance Business Owner
We have faith that you will always deliver a high standard of service. Insurance Business Owner
You are always ready to help. Our dedicated consultant gives us tailored advice at our quarterly reviews and the telephone helpline is always available whenever we need a little extra support. Insurance Business Owner
Your 'full service' package gives us unrivalled peace of mind. From the comprehensive compliance manual to the Hot TopICS regulatory updates, you ensure that we are well-informed and able to implement the actions needed to maintain compliance. Insurance Business Owner
Thanks to their regular visits, our compliance consultant is now, in effect, part of our operational team. We are able to contact them at any time, not just when they visit regularly, and they understand not only the questions we ask but what is prompting us to ask them! Insurance Business Owner GSIS Ltd
We have never been more comfortable with our regulatory status / situation based on the support and guidance we receive from you guys. Jeff Rush Chief Executive, Rush Insurance Services Ltd
Earlier this week I was sent details of what would be required for a Network audit at the end of the month. The amount of documents, policies, procedures and registers required for this were terrifying and would previously have taken me 2 weeks of solid work to pull together, whilst still trying to run the business and look after clients. Because of the work Casey had already done for us though, in only 2 visits, literally everything needed was readily available, up to date and perfect. Can’t thank her enough and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her to anyone else. Insurance Business Owner
ICS has been invaluable to us and we will continue to use them as our external compliance arm as they are a dedicated professional team with unparalleled expertise in the industry. Insurance Business Owner
Since working with ICS we have complete peace of mind regarding all of our compliance needs. We have worked with others in the past who have not understood our business or our needs. ICS’s service has been exceptional, not only with our regular day to day requirements, but also when we have called on them for support and advice for bespoke projects; indeed they attended an urgent meeting with a moment’s notice. Insurance Business Owner
We have used ICS for 10 years. We are extremely satisfied with the service they provide and with their specialist knowledge and advice on the rules and regulations. Nothing is too much trouble. Help from the friendly team with the RMAR/Gabriel is greatly appreciated. We would not hesitate to recommend them. Insurance Business Owner
We have built up a good relationship with our Consultant, who is key to the service ICS provides to us. We find the way he coaches us and understands our mentality helps with the compliance piece – and we are never lectured. Insurance Business Owner
We are very pleased to have been a business partner of ICS for 5 years. This relationship works very well giving us the right balance of internal control and external, up to date advice. The service provided by our relationship manager, Rob Cawthorne, has been professional and beneficial. Rob has also been our main contact for some time now providing stability and continuity. Insurance Business Owner
Really pleased to finally meet up today and get so much done. I feel a lot better knowing what is expected of me as a business owner. Much of the Product Governance and Pricing initiatives are core to my business anyway and I have no trouble with what is in store Insurance Business Owner
ICS worked with Specialist Risk Group on a major project from August 2021 to January 2022. As a company that prides itself on its specialist knowledge we were impressed by the way that ICS understood our business. They managed the entire project efficiently, keeping us updated at each stage of the process. Our dedicated consultant, Tony Darwall, was very experienced and built a good rapport with our staff. The deliverables from the project were of a high quality and we look forward to working with ICS again in the future. Clare Lebecq Group Chief Operating Officer, Specialist Risk Group