Annual Conference 2020

Breakout sessions:

• Morning sessions
  • A: How conduct regulation can revolutionise distribution models [more details]
    Following the implementation of the IDD and the findings of the FCA’s Thematic Review on General Insurance distribution chain, the FCA has called on GI firms to prioritise governance and oversight of the distribution chain, to ensure that these act as mitigants, and not drivers, of harm. Similarly, in the life and long-terms savings market, the FCA has focussed its attention on the oversight of the distribution chain and of outsourced activities. Mirroring these, recent Dear CEO letters flagged similar issues in the wholesale market, with the FCA calling on firms to take action to increase oversight in their distribution arrangements, to ensure the right outcomes for end clients. This session will explore the regulatory expectations placed on firms and the steps that insurers are taking to ensure value for their clients. Format: Keynote speech and panel discussion
  • B: The robots are coming, or are they? An exploration of cutting edge approaches to financial advice [more details]
    An exploration of cutting edge approaches to financial advice What will the advice market look like in ten or twenty years time? Will consumers ever feel comfortable taking financial advice from a machine? With the FCA reviewing its interventions into the advice market and the advice gap becoming more of chasm now is a crucial time to try and answer these questions. Consumers have to make more complex decisions than ever before but the advice market is structurally incapable of helping the majority. In this session we ask why that is and what changes can be made to help more consumers get the advice they need. Format: Presentations
• Afternoon sessions
  • D: Changing Solvency II: 2020 review and post-Brexit reforms [more details]
    2020 is the year Solvency II will be considered for reform at the EU level. At the same time the UK is beginning to think about how Solvency II could be reformed in the UK. Risk Margin, Matching Adjustment, reporting requirements are just some of the priority areas for the PRA and UK industry. How closely aligned will the UK remain with EU rules? To what extent will the 2020 reforms apply in the UK? What are the risks and opportunities for the UK society and industry? What will be the role of international prudential regulation?  Format: Fireside chat
  • E: Debate - Insurance has no part to play in providing for the nation’s health [more details]
    “The NHS is the closest thing the English have to a religion” – as was once famously said. Now in its 71st year, this very British institution remains the focus of national debate and the political winds are blowing as strongly as ever towards increasing public funding for our health service as all political parties seek to be trusted custodians. However, the costs of healthcare continue to rise, a growing and ageing population is fuelling demand, and evolving healthcare needs are creating new and complex challenges for consumers and the state. With the role of increased private provision being slowly embedded into the political narrative, and the NHS Five Year Forward View stating that ‘people need to be more proactive about prioritising their health and wellbeing’ to reduce health related risk, there is little real discussion about the boundaries, or the right balance to strike between the state, individuals and employers, in paying for the nation’s health and wellbeing. Is now the right time to examine how we pay for the nation’s health and wellbeing, or is this controversial discussion already over before it has even begun? Format: Debate
  • F: The future of general insurance pricing [more details]
    In recent months general insurance pricing practices have come under intense scrutiny, with a super-complaint to the Competition and Markets Authority covering ‘loyalty pricing’ in various sectors including insurance, and an FCA Market Study specifically on general insurance pricing. By early 2020 the FCA is likely to have published its final Market Study report, and the direction of travel for the industry will be beginning to emerge. In this session, panellists will debate how effectively regulatory action will change customers’ experience of GI pricing, what it means for insurance processes and business models, and whether there are questions that remain unanswered. Format: Panel discussion