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  1. Point in time
    2010-04-01

ICOBS 5.3 Advised sales

Suitability

ICOBS 5.3.1RRP

A firm must take reasonable care to ensure the suitability of its advice for any customer who is entitled to rely upon its judgment.

Suitability guidance for protection policies

ICOBS 5.3.2GRP

In taking reasonable care to ensure the suitability of advice on a payment protection contract or a pure protection contract a firm should:

  1. (1)

    establish the customer's demands and needs. It should do this using information readily available and accessible to the firm and by obtaining further relevant information from the customer, including details of existing insurance cover; it need not consider alternatives to policies nor customer needs that are not relevant to the type of policy in which the customer is interested;

  2. (2)

    take reasonable care to ensure that a policy is suitable for the customer's demands and needs, taking into account its level of cover and cost, and relevant exclusions, excesses, limitations and conditions; and

  3. (3)

    inform the customer of any demands and needs that are not met.

Advice on the basis of a fair analysis

ICOBS 5.3.3RRP

If an insurance intermediary informs a customer that it

gives advice on the basis of a fair analysis, it must give that advice on the basis of an analysis of a sufficiently large number of contracts of insurance available on the market to enable it to make a recommendation, in accordance with professional criteria, regarding which contract of insurance would be adequate to meet the customer's needs.

[Note: article 12(2) of the Insurance Mediation Directive]