• Financial Care Solutions
  • About You
    • Retirement Planning
    • Later Life Planning
    • Care Fees Planning
  • About Us
    • Our fees
    • Care Planning Guides
  • News
  • Get in touch

Call me on 01737 321 206

catriona@financialcaresolutions.co.uk
Secure client login
Financial Care SolutionsFinancial Care Solutions
Financial Care SolutionsFinancial Care Solutions
  • Financial Care Solutions
  • About You
    • Retirement Planning
    • Later Life Planning
    • Care Fees Planning
  • About Us
    • Our fees
    • Care Planning Guides
  • News
  • Get in touch

Regulation is coming for pre-paid funeral plans 

24/03/2021 Posted by Catriona Lumiste Later Life Planning

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) had laid out its plans to regulate the pre-paid funeral plans sector.

A new consultation, which is open for feedback until next month, describes the draft rules for regulating the sector and improving its standards.

The consultation follows the drafting of legislation at the start of the year, designed to bring the sale and administration of funeral plans under the scope of the FCA’s regulation.

This new legislation followed concerns raised in the press and by consumer groups about how some pre-paid funeral plan providers were conducting themselves, as well as their financial strength.

The new rules come into force from July 2022.

Within the consultation, the FCA explained it will improve standards in the pre-paid funeral plans sector by ensuring that products meet the individual needs of consumers. They will ban the sale of products that do not provide for funeral services in almost all circumstances when someone dies.

The new regulation will also ensure that plans are sold fairly, including a ban on cold-calling to prevent consumers from being hassled into taking out plans which might not be suitable.

Pre-paid funeral plans will need to be fairly valued, which will stop firms from using additional fees to drive up their profits. It will also result in a ban on the payment of commission to intermediaries.

Finally, the FCA will ensure that those who buy these plans have access to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), should things go wrong.

Sheldon Mills, Executive Director of Consumers and Competition, said:

“Pre-paid funeral plans can help people and their families to manage the costs of a funeral. It is vital that consumers have confidence that their plan will deliver the funeral they expect at a fair value.

“The measures proposed today will help ensure that the industry serves consumers well.

“It’s imperative the industry prepares now, ahead of its upcoming entry into financial services regulation.”

To prepare for the changes, firms will need to consider how the FCA regulation impacts their business and start making necessary changes, as required.

Firms will need to apply to the FCA for authorisation, a process that starts in September 2021.

The information contained in this blog post does not constitute advice or recommendations. You should seek independent financial advice before acting on any information on this website.

Share
0

About Catriona Lumiste

Catriona Lumiste is a Society of Later Life Advisers (SOLLA) Accredited Later Life Adviser and Care Fees Planning Specialist.

You also might be interested in

Light at the end of the coronavirus tunnel

Light at the end of the coronavirus tunnel

Jan 28, 2021

Nobody has escaped the impact of this pandemic; it has[...]

Planning for my future has always been important

Planning for my future has always been important

Jan 21, 2015

Helen Center is 79 years old and has just downsized[...]

Is your home well suited to cater for your needs in later life?
Health visitor and a senior woman during home visit. A nurse or a doctor examining a woman.

Is your home well suited to cater for your needs in later life?

Oct 13, 2020

According to new research, the majority of over 55s say[...]

Recent Posts

  • Why cash is king
  • Regulation is coming for pre-paid funeral plans 
  • Could these proposals resolve the adult social care crisis?
  • Financial Vulnerability Taskforce
  • So, when is the right time for care?
  • You simplified the process of getting the best deal for us by getting us to understand what was important to us and providing us with the options. It became less stressful and we always felt you had our best interests at heart.

    Ms S Crabtree
  • Every time that she has visited us she put us at ease, which was important to us as our previous experience has left us over anxious. We now have confidence in our future plans.

    Mr and Mrs Matthews
    Redhill
  • Catriona is a lovely lady who as well as keeping an eye on our financial wellbeing always finds time to ask about the family – and remembers what we have said!

    Jackie and Jeremy Carmichael
  • We have been very happy and impressed by the way you have spent time with us explaining everything and guiding us through the options so that we could make an informed choice about what is best for my father and helping us achieve those options. I think you have provided us with an invaluable service.

    Mr and Mrs Lennon
  • Catriona is without question one of the best care funding advisers in the country. A pleasure to work with as a professional partner she gives her very best every time and would enhance any service with a dedication to her own professional development which enables her to provide quality assured advice in a personalised way.

    Nicola Taylor
    Care Adviser Network

Contact Us

We're currently offline. Send us an email and we'll get back to you, asap.

Send Message
Let's talk about later life planning Schedule a call
Financial Care Solutions
Schedule a call

Get in touch

  • Financial Care Solutions Ltd
  • Abbey House, 25 Clarendon Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1QZ
  • 01737 321 206
  • catriona@financialcaresolutions.co.uk
  • https://www.financialcaresolutions.co.uk

Society of Later Life Advisers

Financial Vulnerability Taskforce

Our latest news

Why cash is king

Why cash is king

07/04/2021

Cash is King is an old saying which is often used to...

Regulation is coming for pre-paid funeral plans 

Regulation is coming for pre-paid funeral plans 

24/03/2021

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) had laid out its plans...

Could these proposals resolve the adult social care crisis?

Could these proposals resolve the adult social care crisis?

10/03/2021

An ongoing political hot potato is the cost of funding adult...

Financial Care Solutions Ltd is an Appointed Representative of Best Practice IFA Group Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

The Financial Ombudsman Service is available to sort out individual complaints that clients and financial services businesses aren’t able to resolve themselves. To contact the Financial Ombudsman Service please visit www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.

The guidance and/or advice contained within this website are subject to the UK regulatory regime, and are therefore targeted at consumers based in the UK.

Registered Number 720600. Registered in England No 09712439.

Registered Office Abbey House, 25 Clarendon Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1QZ.

© 2021 · Financial Care Solutions Ltd | Privacy Policy | Legal Disclaimer | Terms & Conditions | Site by Bamford Media

Prev Next