The Guide to the FSA Handbook for Small Mortgage and Insurance Intermediaries (the Guide) is in three parts:

1. (1)

   Part I covers all the parts of the Handbook that apply to mortgage and insurance intermediaries other than rules on conduct of business, training and competence and client money. Chapter 2 of Part I explains the structure of the Handbook, what parts apply to small insurance and mortgage intermediaries and how to interpret the provisions of the Handbook.

2. (2)

   Part II covers the conduct of business and training and competence rules for mortgage intermediaries.

3. (3)

   Part III (this Part) covers the client money, conduct of business and training and competence rules for insurance intermediaries.

Since 14 January 2005, we (the FSA) have been responsible for regulating insurance intermediaries. This Part of the Guide (together with Part I) is primarily for small intermediaries doing insurance mediation activities in relation to general insurance or pure protection contracts (except long term care insurance), collectively known as 'non-investment insurance contracts', from a permanent place of business in the UK. Insurance companies should be aware that, as this Guide is primarily for intermediary firms, it does not cover all of the obligations that apply to insurance companies in respect of non-investment insurance contracts.

This Part of the Guide (together with Part I) will help small insurance intermediaries to find the rules in the FSA Handbook of rules and guidance (the Handbook) that apply to them. Part II will only be relevant to insurance intermediaries if they also deal with mortgages.

The rules explained in this Part are in:

1. (1)

   Chapter 5 of the Client Assets sourcebook (CASS 5) (see Chapter 2);

2. (2)

   Insurance: Conduct of Business sourcebook (ICOB) (see Chapter 3); and

3. (3)

   Training and Competence sourcebook (TC) (see Chapter 4).

The client money rules and the conduct of business rules do not apply to reinsurance business although if you do reinsurance mediation you will need authorisation and the rules in Part I and the training and competence rules (see Chapter 4) will apply. You can choose to comply with the client money rules for your reinsurance business if you wish.

Do not forget that this Guide is only a tool to help you navigate and understand the Handbook and to find the rules that are relevant to your firm. It is not a substitute for the rules themselves and is not a comprehensive statement of your firm's obligations under our rules. You should use it to help guide you through the most relevant aspects of our regulatory regime.

This Guide is not formal guidance and does not have the status of guidance in the Handbook. You cannot use this Guide to counter a charge of breaking our rules. In the event of any conflict between this Guide and the Handbook, the Handbook takes precedence.

This Guide is current as at 31 March 2005. This Guide does not remove the need for firms to keep up to date with regulatory developments and to consider the potential impact on their business of proposed changes. We will regularly update this Guide but we will not update it each time the Handbook changes.

This Guide uses terms consistent with those defined in the Handbook Glossary. These terms are in italics in the Handbook (though not in this Guide). To help you, Appendix A to Part I contains brief definitions of some of the terms that we use throughout the Guide. Appendix A to Part III explains the key terms used in this Part. In each case firms should consult the Handbook Glossary for the full definitions.