FCA to carry out thematic review into thematic reviews - updated
The Financial Conduct Authority has begun a thematic review into its previous thematic reviews at the behest of new CEO Andrew Bailey, Post can reveal.
A response to a Freedom of Information request reveals the regulator began the investigation a fortnight ago and that is expected to conclude in July, just as Bailey, pictured, succeeds his predecessors Martin Wheatley and interim Tracey McDermott.
The response indicated that the review is exploring all of the reviews carried out since the FCA [which along with Bailey's current employer The Prudential Regulation Authority] replaced the Financial Services Authority three years ago today (1 April 2013), and is focusing on a range of elements from how areas of reviews were chosen and carried out; to the impact they had on the market and the overall reputation of the regulator.
One of the most prominent thematic reviews to have targeted the general insurance market was in household and travel claims, a review - that to no surprise in the market - uncovered "no evidence of systematic attempts by firms to deny valid claims or to squeeze settlement costs".
It also failed to find evidence "of deliberate attempts to slow claims down, with any delays instead being the result of poor processes or management", leading some to question the rationale behind the review in the first place.
While the Association of British Insurers vowed on behalf of its members that no complacency would creep in to claims handling processes after the FCA all-clear, others were less than impressed. One source told Post that the process had been "an absolute waste of time and money, which had tied good people in bureacratic knots rather than helping customers, the focus of the review in the first place".
Another described the FCA as having a "scatter gun" approach to selecting areas for thematic reviews that "was based on the merest hunches, rather than true consumer concerns".
Other reviews have included commercial claims, delegated authority, price comparrison sites and motor legal expenses.
THIS STORY APPEARED ON POSTONLINE THIS MORNING, BUT IS INDEED AN APRIL FOOL'S DAY SPECIAL; ALTHOUGH, AS SOME AS YOU HAVE COMMENTED, A HIGHLY BELIEVABLE ONE
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