FASA 2023
Pensions and Protection

Photo: Em Fitzgerald

Pensions and Protection

As providers settled into the 'new norm' after Covid-19 and got to grips with supporting people with the cost of living crisis, the consumer duty was introduced and firms saw their service levels placed under intense scrutiny.

The Financial Conduct Authority's new consumer duty aims to set higher and clearer standards of consumer protection across financial services, requiring firms to put their customers' needs first.

This involves making sure that customers and their advisers are given helpful and accessible support, so that it is as easy to sort out a problem, switch or cancel a product as it was to buy it in the first place.

So providers' service levels have now been put directly under the spotlight.

But this has given providers more of an opportunity to prove their worth and show that exceptional client and adviser service is ingrained.

This is evident in this year's Financial Adviser Service Awards, with advisers awarding companies such as Dentons, Aviva, Guardian, InvestAcc, Just and Royal London — to name but a few — the coveted five stars.

Not only have these providers had to prepare for the consumer duty regulations, they also had to ensure they continue to give advisers and their clients the best service and support, adapt to new technologies and deal with the ongoing economic uncertainty.

Some firms have made a determined push to improve their service.

For example, earlier this year Aviva unveiled details of its new cost of living support scheme for existing individual protection customers.

This aims to help customers with longer-term money worries keep some valuable protection cover in place over the next few years by reducing the sum assured on their policy to make their premiums more manageable.

Other providers looked at how they could make processes easier for advisers.

For example, Royal London revealed it was developing lead-generation technology for advisers to help them understand which customers within workplace pensions may need help and advice.

It also pledged greater support around consumer duty through a programme of activity, such as training, but also through a series of technological developments the mutual has been creating to support advisers.

Among all this, some firms have made a determined push to improve their service.

This year, self-invested personal pension and small self-administered scheme provider InvestAcc has taken home the Most Improved award for the Pensions and Protection category after it made several changes to its processes throughout the year.

The firm went from being rated a three in 2022 to achieving the coveted five-star rating this year.

The provider looked to launch web-based versions of its main forms and made some changes to its Sipp application forms to include a more streamlined contribution section and updated adviser fee section.

It also made changes to its process for onboarding new adviser firms.

amy.austin@ft.com