FCA acting chief executive Tracey McDermott has urged an end to what she calls an “adversial” approach to regulation.
In a speech to the ABI Biennial Conference this week she said: “It is important that regulation is not seen as an adversarial process where the regulator and the regulated are in constant conflict.

“The reality is that while our roles are different, and while a degree of challenge and creative tension between the regulator and the industry is not only healthy but also desirable, ultimately, in most of what we do, both regulators and the industry want the same things.”

She said the FCA had several priorities including making the market work well with profitable, sustainable businesses meeting the needs of customers now and in the future.

She said the regulator also wanted the industry to be known for the “highest standards of conduct” towards consumers.

Other priorities included a competitive landscape which rewards the best providers and the industry contributing to long-term economic growth.

She said achieving a consensus with the industry on how to achieve these aims and the “the level of pain that is acceptable to get there” was not always easy.

She admitted that the current position was challenging for the insurance sector faced with increasing competition from overseas; abundant capital; low interest rates and soft pricing. There has also been significant regulatory and legislative change in recent years.

She said surveys of CEOs in the UK and elsewhere constantly highlight regulatory changes as a key business risk.

Turning to the future, she said regulators, firms and consumers should look to the opportunities of the future rather than correcting the problems of the past.

For future success for the insurance sector, she said there must be competitive, innovative markets, consumers must have trust and confidence in those providing insurance services and there must be transparent, deep and well-regulated capital markets.

The UK insurance industry has a long, and proud, history of innovation and creativity, she said. Price comparison sites and mobile apps are obvious examples here, she said, and technology would drive further change.

But financial capability remains low and the advice landscape patchy.The challenge for the industry is to develop products and services that meet these changing needs and the new environment, she said.

She added: “Our work on the Financial Advice Market Review is a good example of this. Building on the work of the RDR, the review is asking some fundamental questions about how we can ensure that consumers are able to obtain the support they need to plan their financial affairs.”

She told the conference that the insurance and pension providers needed to do more to improve consumer confidence too by improving their conduct.

“The conduct of insurers has not always been something to write home about. The sale of unnecessary and low value insurance products, often in a pressurised way, has featured in a number of our enforcement, supervision and competition activities in recent years.”