The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority said July 22 that itfound "significant" shortcomings in the oversight of appointedrepresentatives by their principal firms in the general insurance sector.
More than half of the 15 principal firms subject to the FCAreview could not consistently demonstrate that they had measures in place toaddress potential risks arising from the activities of their appointedrepresentatives. In addition, some firms did not appear to have understood thefull extent of their obligations for ensuring their appointed representativescomplied with regulatory requirements.
The watchdog also found examples of potential mis-sellingand customer detriment as a result of appointed representatives' actions.
As part of early intervention actions, the FCA stopped fivefirms from taking on new appointed representatives and asked two of those fivefirms to cease or limit sales activities.
The watchdog noted that one of the 15 principals voluntarilyceased its activities since the review commenced.