FCA announces amendments to new GI renewal rules

"We expect that our package of measures will prompt consumers to engage, shop around, and make better-informed decisions."

The deadline has been extended by three months from the date originally planned, after the FCA made amendments to the rules.

GI firms will be requireed to publish details of last year's premium on renewal notices and include text to encourage consumers to check their cover and shop around for the best deal at each renewal.

Firms will also need to identify consumers who have renewed with them four consecutive times, and give these consumers an additional prescribed message encouraging them to shop around.

The FCA has also made changes to the proposed rules, first announced in December 2015, after industry feedback.

Where a consumer’s circumstances have changed during the course of holding their policy, firms must now give an annualised premium reflecting any mid-term adjustments, instead of last year’s premium.

In the ‘shopping around’ disclosure, consumers will also be encouraged to consider cover when as well as price.

Additionally, the FCA is bringing 10-month policies into scope, in addition to annual policies, to "reduce the risk of some firms avoiding [its] proposals".

The FCA said: "We expect that our package of measures will prompt consumers to engage, shop around, and make better-informed decisions. The measures will also increase firms’ focus on renewal practices, and, as a result, improve consumer outcomes."