Cormac Bradley, Senior Actuarial Director at Broadstone, commented:“Today’s FCA policy statement is a targeted, proportionate tidy up of UK insurance conduct rules, not a wholesale rewrite. It trims requirements that had become overlapping with Consumer Duty or overly prescriptive, while keeping protections intact. Three areas will be felt most on the front line: a clearer boundary for larger commercial customers vs SMEs, more flexible competency/CPD frameworks (with accountability squarely on firms) and a streamlined approach to Employers’ Liability register reporting. At the same time, the FCA has parked wider changes, notably GAP and non-UK business scope, for further consultation in 2026. Watch this space. It’s a welcome recalibration: reduced friction and more judgment led governance for insurers and brokers, without diluting consumer outcomes. The test now is execution, firms must use the extra flexibility wisely, and the FCA’s oversight will matter in ensuring good value and robust disclosure where it counts. Overall, this is not going to get pulses racing, but it is a good instance of the regulator and market practitioners working together to keep the rule book fit for purpose. The direction of travel is the important thing.”
Sheila Cameron, CEO of the Lloyd’s Market Association: “The LMA are pleased that the FCA continues to focus on regulatory simplification in its announcement today. However, it represents a missed opportunity for meaningful simplification in the commercial and specialty insurance sector. The FCA have taken small steps by allowing insurers to take a proportional approach to the frequency of fair value assessments of their products and not prescribing mandated hours for training These measures are incremental and fall short of delivering any substantive change for insurers operating at Lloyd’s. For three years, the LMA has worked closely with the FCA on two critical issues: the territorial scope of the rulebook and the definition of “consumer.” Both have significant implications for the Lloyd’s marketplace and remain unresolved. A clear definition of consumer and a more proportionate territorial scope would materially reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens while ensuring genuine retail customers receive appropriate protection. We therefore join the LMG in urging the FCA to deliver these substantive reforms within the next 12 months and to honour its original promises to the LMA on this topic. Only by addressing these long-standing issues can the FCA achieve the level of regulatory clarity and efficiency that the London market requires.”
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed changes to simplify its rules and lower costs for insurers
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