b'Insurance Regulatory | UK/Brexit Take reasonable steps to ensure they are preparedThe FCA is also consulting on other new measures to to meet the challenges coronavirus poses tofurther boost competition and deliver fair value to all customers and staff, particularly through firmsinsurance customers including:business continuity plans;Product governance rules requiring firms toProvide strong and transparent support andconsider how they offer fair value to all insurance service to customers and small businesses; customers over the longer term. Manage financial resilience and actively manage Requirements on firms to report certain data sets liquidity; and to the FCA so that it can check the rules are beingPrioritize information security and ensure thatfollowed. adequate controls are in place to manage cyber Making it simpler to stop automatic renewal across threats. all general insurance products.Operational resilience has been on the UK regula- The FCA is seeking views on its proposals by January tory agenda prior to the pandemic. The FCA and25, 2021. It will consider all the feedback and intends PRA have made it clear that firms are expected toto publish a Policy Statement and new rules in 2021 have tested contingency plans to deal with majoralong with its response to the consultation feedback.catastrophic events so we expect the regulators to be unsympathetic to avoidable failures that causeThese are very significant developments and reflect significant harm to customers or disruption to thean ongoing change in the way the FCA has been market, even if they are otherwise caused by thedealing with pricing across all retail insurance highly unusual circumstances created by COVID.markets (not just in relation to home and motor insurance) as well as in other retail financial services General Insurance Pricingmarkets, and in particular, reflects the FCAs willing-ness to intervene where it believes prices are The FCA is concerned home and motor insuranceexcessively high or otherwise unfair.markets are not working well for consumers and has set out proposed remedies to address this. In 2020Culture, Governance, Whistleblowing the FCA continued its work in reforming of these markets through measures which seek to enhanceImproving culture in financial services was a continu-competition, ensure consumers will receive fair valueing priority for the FCA and the PRA in 2020. The and increase trust in these markets. regulators are of the view that it is the responsibility of everyone in financial services to focus on culture The FCA is proposing that when a customer renewsand they expect leaders in firms to manage the their home or motor insurance policy, they pay nodrivers of behavior in their firms to create and more than they would if they were new to theirmaintain cultures which reduce the potential for provider through the same sales channel. Firms wouldharm. It is considered that firms cultures have been be free to set new business prices, but they would bea major root cause of conduct failures and that prevented from gradually increasing the renewal pricesupporting firms in delivering real and sustainable to consumers over time (known as price walking)culture transformations will help prevent harm other than in line with changes in customers risk. Forcaused by inappropriate behaviors.existing consumers, their renewal price would be no higher than the equivalent new business price. 82 GLOBAL INSURANCE INDUSTRY|YEAR IN REVIEW 2020'