GEN 4.3 Letter disclosure
Disclosure in letters to private customers
A firm must take reasonable care to ensure that every letter (or electronic equivalent) which it or its employees send to a private customer, with a view to or in connection with the firm carrying on a regulated activity, includes the disclosure in GEN 4 Annex 1 R.1
For a UK domestic firm, the required disclosure in GEN 4 Annex 1 R is "Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority".
- (1)
GEN 4.3.1 R (Disclosure in letters to private customers) covers letters delivered by hand, sent by post and sent by fax and also electronic mail, but not text messages, account statements, business cards or compliment slips (used as such).
- (2)
GEN 4.3.1 R (Disclosure in letters to private customers) applies in relation to letters sent by any of the firm's employees, which includes its appointed representatives and their employees.
- (3)
Firms are likely to find it convenient to include the required disclosure in their letterhead.
Exception: insurers
GEN 4.3.1 R (Disclosure in letters to private customers) does not apply in relation to:
- (1)
general insurance business if:
- (a)
the State of the risk is an EEA State other than the United Kingdom; or
- (b)
the State of the risk is outside the EEA and the client is not in the United Kingdom when the contract of insurance is entered into; or
- (a)
- (2)
long-term insurance business if:
- (a)
the client is habitually resident in an EEA State other than the United Kingdom; or
- (b)
the client is habitually resident outside the EEA and is not present in the United Kingdom when the contract of insurance is entered into.
- (a)
Exception: authorised professional firms
For an authorised professional firm, GEN 4.3.1 R (Disclosure in letters to private customers) does not apply with respect to its non-mainstream regulated activities.
Exception: use of third party processors in mortgage and insurance mediation activities
- (1)
1Where a firm has outsourced activities to a third party processor other than advising on life policies3, GEN 4.3.1 R does not apply to that third party processor when acting as such, so long as the outsourcing firm ensures that the third party processor and its employees comply with that rule as if it was the firm and they were employees of the firm.
- (2)
Where an appointed representative has outsourced insurance mediation activities other than advising on life policies3 or mortgage mediation activities to a third party processor, GEN 4.3.1 R does not apply to that third party processor when acting as such, so long as the appointed representative's principal ensures that the third party processor and its employees comply with that rule as if it was the appointed representative and they were the employees of the appointed representative.
3 - (3)
Where an appointed representative of a firm is carrying on:
- (a)
insurance mediation activities other than advising on life policies3; or
3 - (b)
which have been outsourced to it by the firm, GEN 4.3.1 R does not apply to the firm when the appointed representative is carrying on the outsourced activities, so long as the firm ensures that the appointed representative and its employees comply with that rule as if it was the firm and they were employees of the firm.
- (a)