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Consumer Duty

What does the FCA Consumer Duty mean to customers, AXA and our brokers

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published the Consumer Duty final rules and guidance in July 2023, a year before its full implementation date of July 2024 for existing products and services. AXA Commercial and Retail have been working towards the higher standards for some time and we want to share with our partners how we believe the Duty relates to our customers, AXA Commercial and Retail and the third parties we work with, which we hope you will find helpful.

What Is It?

The Duty is a higher standard of expectations for how firms should treat customers to better protect them from new and emerging drivers of harm and gives firms more certainty around the FCA’S expectations to support innovation, competition and to better serve customers. The work on the Consumer Duty publication predates the cost-of-living crisis but reinforces the need for the Duty’s higher standards. Across the Duty it requires firms to pay particular regard to vulnerable customers. The Duty comprises a new principle 12 that requires firms to act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers,

3 cross cutting rules:

  1. Act in good faith towards retail customers
  2. Avoid causing foreseeable harm to retail customers
  3. Enable and support retail customers to pursue their financial objectives

& 4 consumer outcomes:

  1. Product & Service
  2. Price & Value
  3. Consumer Understanding
  4. Consumer Support

Principle 12 outlines the expectations for positive and proactive actions for firm’s conduct, to place customer interests at the heart of activities and to consider customer outcomes. The cross-cutting rules set out the expected standards underpinning principle 12 and set out how firms should act, proactively and reactively, to deliver good customer outcomes. Firms must be able to evidence delivery of all elements of the Duty.