Moore Stephens: Contract Certainty Gaps Must be Filled

Moore Stephens say there are big gaps in the U.K. insurance industry’s application and understanding of FSA requirements on contract certainty. While acknowledging that a lot of work has been put in by the London Market Reform Group, among others, Moore Stephens says the target of achieving between 75 and 80 percent compliance looks optimistic, at best. The FSA is to review the industry’s performance and it is understood that later this month it may decide to adopt a more rigorous approach to enforcement. Moore Stephens Insurance Industry Group partner Simon Gallagher says that firms should be monitoring their progress in terms of trying to meet contract certainty targets. Writing in the firm’s Insured Interest newsletter, he says, “Firms should have systems in place whereby any failure to achieve contract certainty is reported. They should be confident that they have adequate training procedures to educate their staff in this respect, and to help staff manage the process rather than being exclusively target-driven.