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ICOBS 6A.7 Disclosure requirements for multi-occupancy buildings insurance

Application

ICOBS 6A.7.1R

1This section applies in relation to a multi-occupancy building insurance contract.

Purpose

ICOBS 6A.7.2G
  1. (1)

    1The purpose of this section is to:

    1. (a)

      improve transparency in the multi-occupancy building insurance contract market; and

    2. (b)

      enable leaseholders to receive clear and accessible information about the building insurance arrangements in connection with the building in which they are tenants to allow them to better understand:

      1. (i)

        the scope of insurance cover in relation to that building; and

      2. (ii)

        how any tenancy charges relating to the multi-occupancy building insurance contract have been incurred.

  2. (2)

    The rules in ICOBS 6A.7 require firms to produce disclosures to be provided to leaseholders. In the FCA Handbook, the term leaseholders will include any natural persons who are policy stakeholders or policyholders, who are acting outside of their trade or profession and who are liable to pay service charges in relation to tenancies for dwellings (in line with the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985) and, where relevant, a recognised tenants’ association.

What information must be disclosed

ICOBS 6A.7.3R
  1. (1)

    1As soon as reasonably practicable after the conclusion of a multi-occupancy building insurance contract, and upon any subsequent renewal, a firm must:

    1. (a)

      give the customer the information specified in (2); and

    2. (b)

      tell the customer to pass a copy of this information on promptly and in full to any leaseholder of the building in relation to which the multi-occupancy building insurance contract provides cover.

  2. (2)

    The information in (1) must include:

    1. (a)

      a summary of the cover (in accordance with ICOBS 6A.7.5R);

    2. (b)

      pricing information (in accordance with ICOBS 6A.7.6R);

    3. (c)

      remuneration information (in accordance with ICOBS 6A.7.8R);

    4. (d)

      (for an insurance intermediary) placing and shopping around information (in accordance with ICOBS 6A.7.11R); and

    5. (e)

      (for an insurance intermediary) conflicts of interest information (in accordance with ICOBS 6A.7.14R).

  3. (3)

    Where the firm is in contact with, or has contact details for, a leaseholder:

    1. (a)

      it may meet the requirements in (1) by instead providing the information directly to the leaseholder; and

    2. (b)

      where it has been made aware that the leaseholder has not received any information in (2) from the customer, it must provide the leaseholder with that information.

ICOBS 6A.7.4G

1The table in ICOBS 6A.7.21R sets out the responsibilities of insurers and insurance intermediaries in relation to which firm will be responsible for producing the information required by this section and which firm will be responsible for giving this information to the customer, or leaseholder, in order to meet ICOBS 6A.7.3R(1).

Summary of the cover

ICOBS 6A.7.5R

1The summary of the cover under ICOBS 6A.7.3R(2)(a) must include, where applicable, the following information:

  1. (1)

    name of the insurance undertaking and its regulatory status;

  2. (2)

    type of insurance;

  3. (3)

    main risks insured;

  4. (4)

    summary of excluded risks;

  5. (5)

    the insured sum, together with:

    1. (a)

      in the case of a flat, the amount for which the building containing it is insured under the policy and, if specified in the policy, the amount for which the flat is insured under it; and

    2. (b)

      in the case of a dwelling other than a flat, the amount for which the dwelling is insured under the policy;

  6. (6)

    excesses;

  7. (7)

    term or duration of the policy including the start and end dates of the contract;

  8. (8)

    exclusions where claims cannot be made; and

  9. (9)

    significant features and benefits.

Pricing information

ICOBS 6A.7.6R

1The pricing information required by ICOBS 6A.7.3R(2)(b) must set out the total premium for the policy and include:

  1. (1)

    the amount of insurance premium tax;

  2. (2)

    the amount of value added tax; and

  3. (3)

    a breakdown of the premium at:

    1. (a)

      (in the case of a flat) building level and (if specified in the policy) the flat; and

    2. (b)

      (in the case of a dwelling that is not a flat) at dwelling level.

ICOBS 6A.7.7R
  1. (1)

    1For the purposes of ICOBS 6A.7.6R(3), where a firm is unable to identify the specific amount of premium at building or dwelling level, the firm may provide an estimate of the breakdown of the premium for that building or dwelling.

  2. (2)

    A firm relying on (1) must take reasonable care when producing the estimate to ensure the leaseholder can rely upon the amount to understand the building or dwelling level premium.

Remuneration information

ICOBS 6A.7.8R

1The remuneration information required by ICOBS 6A.7.3R(2)(c) must include:

  1. (1)

    the total commission that the firm and any associate receives; and

  2. (2)

    any remuneration or other financial incentive offered or given by the firm to any third party, including the freeholder or anyone acting on their behalf, in particular where the firm knows, or should be reasonably aware, that the sum will be included in the amount a leaseholder would be liable to pay,

in connection with the multi-occupancy building insurance contract.

ICOBS 6A.7.9R

1The disclosure in ICOBS 6A.7.8R must be in cash terms (estimated, if necessary).

ICOBS 6A.7.10G

1The disclosure under ICOBS 6A.7.8R should include all forms of remuneration or financial incentive, that would or could be received by the firm, its associates or any third party, in connection with a multi-occupancy building insurance contract, whether before or after the conclusion of that policy. This would include arrangements for sharing profits or where the remuneration is contingent on future events such as payments that rely on certain targets being met.

Placement and shopping around information

ICOBS 6A.7.11R

1The information required by ICOBS 6A.7.3R(2)(d) must include:

  1. (1)

    the number of alternative policy quotes the firm obtained from:

    1. (a)

      the insurance undertaking with which the multi-occupancy building insurance contract was taken out; and

    2. (b)

      any other insurance undertaking(s); and

  2. (2)

    an explanation of why the particular multi-occupancy building insurance contract taken out was consistent with the interests of both the customer and the leaseholder.

ICOBS 6A.7.12R

1In relation to the information in ICOBS 6A.7.11R(1), a firm must, on request from a customer or a leaseholder, provide further details about the quotes it obtained.

ICOBS 6A.7.13G

1The explanation in ICOBS 6A.7.11R(2) may be adapted according to whether the firm provided a personal recommendation in relation to the policy or not. It would be expected that where a personal recommendation has been provided, the explanation will set out why the particular policy was presented as suitable for the customer, taking into account its level of cover and cost, and relevant exclusions, excesses, limitations and conditions. Whether or not the policy was taken out following the provision of advice to the customer, the explanation should provide sufficient detail to enable the customer and leaseholder to understand why the particular policy was proposed.

Conflicts of interest information

ICOBS 6A.7.14R

1The information required in ICOBS 6A.7.3R(2)(e) must include:

  1. (1)

    whether the firm has a direct or indirect holding representing 10% or more of the voting rights or capital in a given insurance undertaking;

  2. (2)

    whether a given insurance undertaking or its parent undertaking has a direct or indirect holding representing 10% or more of the voting rights or capital in the firm; and

  3. (3)

    whether the firm is representing the customer or is acting for and on behalf of the insurer.

Providing required information under ICOBS 6A.7

ICOBS 6A.7.15R
  1. (1)

    1The information required by ICOBS 6A.7.3R may be provided:

    1. (a)

      in a standalone document; or

    2. (b)

      in a combination of documents including documents provided to the customer for the purposes of other ICOBS rules.

  2. (2)

    A firm must ensure that the information required by ICOBS 6A.7.3R, in particular when presented in a combination of documents, is:

    1. (a)

      clear, fair and not misleading;

    2. (b)

      accessible and easy to understand for leaseholders; and

    3. (c)

      sufficiently prominent and clearly identifiable as containing key information that the leaseholder should read (individually and when the documents are taken together).

ICOBS 6A.7.16G
  1. (1)

    1When determining the format in which the firm will provide the information for the purposes of ICOBS 6A.7.15R, a firm should consider what a leaseholder needs in order to understand the relevance of any information provided by the firm.

  2. (2)

    In order to provide the information required in ICOBS 6A.7.3R, a firm may rely, at least in part, on the content in existing documents that are provided to the customer to meet disclosure requirements elsewhere in ICOBS, for example the IPID or policy summary, which include that information.

Means of communication

ICOBS 6A.7.17R
  1. (1)

    1The information in ICOBS 6A.7 must be given on paper or another durable medium in accordance with ICOBS 4.1A (Means of communication to customers).

  2. (2)

    A firm must use reasonable endeavours to ensure any election of the medium in which the information is to be provided is appropriate for the leaseholders receiving the information.

Receiving and responding to queries from customers and leaseholders

ICOBS 6A.7.18R

1Where a firm is contacted by a customer or leaseholder in relation to the information required to be provided by any of the rules in ICOBS 6A.7, it must:

  1. (1)

    respond promptly; and

  2. (2)

    provide good outcomes-focused support that is appropriate given the nature of the query, including by providing:

    1. (a)

      an appropriate level of information to meet their needs;

    2. (b)

      information that is:

      1. (i)

        clear, fair and not misleading; and

      2. (ii)

        accessible and easy to understand; and

    3. (c)

      the information required under ICOBS 6A.7.3R where this has not been passed on to a leaseholder.

ICOBS 6A.7.19G
  1. (1)

    1When considering the good outcomes in ICOBS 6A.7.18R(2) in relation to a query from a leaseholder, a firm should consider the purpose of the policy and the interests of the leaseholders.

  2. (2)

    Where the firm receiving the query considers that another firm is better placed to provide a response (for example, due to that other firm having been responsible for producing the information to which the query relates), it should take all reasonable steps to refer the query to that other firm and reasonably support the leaseholder in obtaining a response.

  3. (3)

    Where a firm receives a query from a leaseholder, it should not create or rely on unreasonable barriers to responding to that query. In particular, where the leaseholder asserts that it has not received the information in ICOBS 6A.7.3R, ICOBS 6A.7.3R(3) requires the firm to provide this information proactively, and not wait to be asked for it or refer the leaseholder to the customer. This includes providing the information to the leaseholder regardless of whether a customer is purporting to withhold consent to the required information being passed to a leaseholder.

Production and provision of information: responsibilities of insurers and insurance intermediaries

ICOBS 6A.7.20R

1Where a firm is responsible for producing information required by the rules in ICOBS 6A.7 as set out in ICOBS 6A.7.21R but is not in contact with the customer (or its representative), it must provide that information to the relevant insurance intermediary in contact with the customer.

ICOBS 6A.7.21R

1The table in this rule sets out the responsibilities of insurers and insurance intermediaries for producing and providing to a customer the information required by this section in order to meet ICOBS 6A.7.3R(1).

Requirement

Item of disclosure

Production

Providing to customer

ICOBS 6A.7.3R(2)(a)

Summary of the cover

Insurer

Firm in contact with customer

ICOBS 6A.7.3R(2)(b)

Pricing information

Insurer

Firm in contact with customer

ICOBS 6A.7.3R(2)(c)

Remuneration information

Any insurance intermediary involved with the distribution

Firm in contact with customer

ICOBS 6A.7.3R(2)(d)

Placing and shopping around information

Insurance intermediary in contact with the customer

Firm in contact with customer

ICOBS 6A.7.3R(2)(e)

Conflicts of interest information

Insurance intermediary

Firm in contact with customer

Responsibilities of insurers and insurance intermediaries in certain situations

ICOBS 6A.7.22R

1The table in this rule modifies the rule in ICOBS 6A.7.21R on the responsibilities of insurers and insurance intermediaries for producing and providing to a customer the information required by this section.

Situation

Insurance intermediary’s responsibility

Insurer’s responsibility

(1)

Insurance intermediary operates from an establishment in the United Kingdom or Gibraltar

Insurer or insurance undertaking does not operate from an establishment in the United Kingdom or Gibraltar

Production and providing

None

(2)

Insurance intermediary does not operate from an establishment in the United Kingdom or Gibraltar; or where the distribution is carried on by a person that is not authorised or an authorised professional firm carrying on non-mainstream regulated activities

Insurer operates from an establishment in the United Kingdom or Gibraltar

None

Production and providing

(3)

Insurance intermediary does not operate from an establishment in the United Kingdom or Gibraltar

Insurer or insurance undertaking does not operate from an establishment in the United Kingdom or Gibraltar

The firm with the contact with the customer has the responsibility for production and/or provision

The firm with the contact with the customer has the responsibility for production and/or provision