YOUR COMPLIANCE MATTERS:    Pre-Existing Medical Conditions (PEMCs) (2)

YOUR COMPLIANCE MATTERS:   Pre-Existing Medical Conditions (PEMCs) (2)

Relevance:                 All firms offering Travel Insurance.

Action required:       Website addition

A few months ago, we alerted firms to some changes that were being introduced to assist consumers to obtain suitable travel insurance arrangements if they were living with pre-existing medical conditions (PEMCs).

If you offer and distribute retail travel insurance, the new rules apply to you, as well as any of your Appointed Representatives that does the same.

As previously indicated, from 01 June 2020, firms would be required to include details of a “Medical Cover Firm Directory” on its website where it markets travel insurance. In this respect, the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) has been developing a publicly available directory of specialist insurance providers, and this has now been completed.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has provided an update on its signposting requirement for travel insurance providers, following the launch of the Money and Pensions Service’s (MaPS)* travel insurance directory.

“This directory meets our criteria for a medical cover firm directory. All firms that offer retail travel insurance must include details of the MaPS directory on their websites within 30 days from when the directory went live on October 08, 2020.

This is to ensure that consumers will have access to the directory, ahead of the introduction of the signposting requirement in April 2021. In the future, should other directories meet our criteria (as confirmed by us), firms will be able to list details of any of these directories.”

Therefore, affected firms must have the relevant information about the MaPS directory in place by 07 November 2020, at the latest.

The following notice might be considered for insertion in the firm’s website where travel insurance is promoted.

The full implementation of the new rules will be from 26 April 2021, and additional signposting and pre-contract information requirements will be necessary.

 We will keep you advised of developments in this area but remember, we can also assist you with any aspect of appropriate communications and website wording or relevant staff training, if you require it. As ever, all you need to do is ask us.

 (*         The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) was established in January 2019 with an aim to bring together three financial guidance bodies; the Money Advice Service, The Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise. MaPS is sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions and also engages with HM Treasury on policy matters relating to financial cap