There are no laws in the United Kingdom that necessitate a individual to have got life insurance. It’s Associate in Nursing entirely voluntary insurance. About 40% of the UK's workings population are covered by life insurance either through their ain policy or via an arrangement through their employer.

So the simple things first. You have got to be a United Kingdom occupant in order to purchase a life insurance policy from a United Kingdom based insurance company. This is not a demand laid down in United Kingdom law, but United Kingdom laws and tax arrangements do it impossible for a United Kingdom based insurance company to offer insurance to anyone other than a United Kingdom resident. But be aware that if, having taken out life insurance, you later dwell abroad, your policy will be invalidated. Naturally, annulment makes not apply if you are on holiday but if you have got a short-term work duty assignment abroad you are well advised to inform your insurance company before you go.

All United Kingdom Insurance Companies are subject to United Kingdom Corporate Laws. However, there are particular ordinances that lone apply to insurance companies. These control the value of the hazards the companies take on in relation to their financial reserves. These ordinances are designed to guarantee that your insurance company will be in a place to pay if you claim.

The Data Protection Act 1998 is concerned with manner all United Kingdom businesses store, safeguard and usage the information they accumulate about people. This is particularly of import within the life insurance industry as the companies shop important amounts of very personal information about you – including your age, wellness record and life style. One of the cardinal commissariat of the Data Protection Act states that if a business wishings to go through on your information for marketing purposes, the business collection the information must state you of its purpose and give you the chance of refusing permission for your information be used in that way. Incidentally, all reputable web land sites selling life insurance will have got a “Privacy Statement” which states you how they manage your information and how it is used.

The Financial Services and Markets Act (2000) is the most of import piece of statute law affecting the publicity of financial services in the United Kingdom including life insurance. The Act is highly complex but is primarily concerned with protecting you the customer. The executions of the Act is overseen by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The FSA modulates all word forms of the publicity of financial merchandises and services including the activities of financial and mortgage advisors in the UK. Their purpose is to guarantee you have clear professional advice that reflects your personal circumstances. They also guarantee you have got a path to compensation should it be proved that you received inadequate or poor advice.

For the layman, the FSA's biggest impact is reflected in the advisors they speak to. The FSA seeks to guarantee that all financial advisors are trustworthy and competent which includes being well supervised and well trained, and that any advice is given in your best interests. The FSA also guarantees that you are given full and accurate information about the merchandises you are being advised to purchase both before and after you have got bought them. They also closely supervise the arrangements that actually make the financial products.

In fact everyone and every arrangement giving financial advice in the United Kingdom must be authorised by the Financial Services Authority.

However, the Act do a differentiation between financial merchandises bought as a consequence of a recommendation from a Financial Adviser and “Execution Only” business. Execution Only is where a client is wholly responsible for the choice of the investing and therefore the financial advisers' exclusive duty is to procedure the purchase efficiently. Under Execution Only, the Adviser bears no duty for the merchandises suitableness for the clients needs.

You should be aware that many of the web land sites promoting life insurance operate on this Execution Only basis. However, most web land site operators supply extended information to enable the client to do an informed choice. Sometimes the information is published on the web land site and sometimes provided during a follow-up telephone call. Either way, within their Terms of Business the web land site will have got got to state you on what footing they supply financial services and as portion of your application, you will normally be required to confirm that you have read those Terms.

Those Terms of Business will always include inside information of a ailments procedure. In outline, if a client wishings to complain, then the client must item the ailment in authorship and direct it to the Conformity Officer for the business employing the advisor. That business then have to look into the ailment and answer to the client in writing. If the Conformity Officer upholds the complaint, and the client have suffered a financial loss as a result, then the business must hold a financial settlement with the customer. Ultimately, if the client have suffered financial loss and cannot accept either the organisations’ decisions or their projected financial settlement, then the state of affairs can be referred to the Financial Ombudsman. The Financial Ombudsman’s service is free to the client and they are wholly independent. The Financial Ombudsman’s determination is usually binding on both parties.

The other cardinal piece of protection for the client is the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. This supplies the client with a degree of protection if a financial arrangement regulated by the FSA goes insolvent and cannot properly ran into its financial duties to its clients.

Postscript
The above information stands for the legal facets we believe you will have got establish most useful. The information is neither unequivocal nor thorough but is simply an introduction for the layman.

If you would wish more than elaborate information relating to the ordinance of life insurance companies, insurance brokers, or financial advisors you should see the Financial Services Authority’s web land site at:

www.fsa.gov.uk