Plenary 3: Regulatory reform: protecting policyholders into poverty?
Brexit provided the UK with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform its regulations to better suit the UK economy. As a result, the last 2 years have seen copious regulatory change. The Financial Services and Markets Bill has led the way for the Edinburgh and Mansion House Reforms as well as the much anticipated reforms to Solvency II. Against the backdrop of an aging population, a volatile macroeconomic and geopolitical environment, and widening pension and insurance gaps, this session will take a step back from the detail to examine the whole regulatory landscape for pensions and insurers through a consumer lens. Starting from regulatory objectives, it will explore system-wide structural issues to the consumer’s wallet. In particular, the session will shine a light on the inter-generational and socio-economic differences in outcomes for consumers. It will examine the continuing trend away from guaranteed products and a lack of innovation in insurance products. Looking to the future of the UK life and pensions market, the session will also question whether the reforms go far enough to remedy the challenges that consumers are facing, and not just the challenges of policymakers, regulators, and industry. In the midst of detailed debates on immeasurable and abstract insurance jargon, have we lost sight of the consumer?
