FCA

Financial Conduct Authority (UK)

Medium Impact

FCA announces partnership actions to expand protection insurance coverage following Pure Protection Market Study

Published

Sep 18, 2026

Topics

Protection insurance, Consumer Duty, Product governance, Insurance distribution, Fair value, Claims handling, Financial resilience, Innovation

Executive Summary

The FCA has announced a coordinated programme with industry, government and consumer-sector partners to improve consumer awareness and access to protection insurance. The announcement follows the FCA’s Pure Protection Market Study, which found that the market generally works well for consumers who hold products, but that many adults have no life insurance, critical illness cover or income protection and many have never considered these products. The FCA is not planning new market-wide measures at this stage, but it has reminded firms of existing expectations under the Consumer Duty and product governance rules, and said it will act where firms fall short. Operationally, insurers, intermediaries and advisers should treat this as a supervisory signal: review the market study findings, evidence consumer outcomes, assess fair value, and improve how protection is discussed with customers. The FCA is also encouraging market innovation through a webinar and a TechSprint, with firms asked to express interest by 13 November.

What Changed

newCross-sector prompts at key life moments

Consumer prompts around protection insurance were not described as a coordinated FCA-backed cross-sector initiative in the supplied announcement.

New

The FCA is coordinating with partners to place protection insurance prompts in consumer journeys where financial vulnerability may increase.

newTargeted consumer awareness campaign

No specific FCA-announced industry-led campaign for less-covered groups was identified in the supplied source.

New

The campaign will focus on groups identified by the FCA as disproportionately unprotected, including renters, the self-employed, gig economy workers, lower-income consumers and people with pre-existing medical conditions.

modifiedAdviser engagement on protection discussions

Adviser conversations about protection were governed by existing conduct, Consumer Duty and insurance distribution requirements, without the specific AMI-led improvement work described in the announcement.

New

Advisers and mortgage intermediaries should expect sector-led work on better customer conversations about protection needs and options.

newInnovation and operational friction initiatives

The supplied source does not identify an existing FCA webinar or TechSprint process for these protection-market issues.

New

Firms interested in the TechSprint are asked to express interest by 13 November; the FCA also wants greater innovation in the market.

modifiedSupervisory emphasis without new market-wide measures

The Pure Protection Market Study was underway, with firms awaiting the FCA’s findings and potential next steps.

New

The FCA is not planning new market-wide measures, but expects firms to review findings, improve and evidence consumer outcomes where needed, and will act where firms fall short.

Business Impact

Who is affected

Directly affected

FCA-authorised protection insurers, distributors, advisers and mortgage intermediaries serving UK retail consumers.

Indirectly affected

sector partners involved in awareness prompts and campaigns, medical-record providers, regtech or insurtech vendors, and consumers in underprotected groups.

Jurisdictions

United Kingdom

Business processes

Protection insurance product governance and fair-value assessment, Consumer Duty outcome monitoring and board reporting, Adviser and mortgage intermediary customer conversations, Claims experience and claims MI review, Switching and customer journey review, Innovation intake, webinar attendance and TechSprint assessment, Medical-record request and underwriting workflow review

Estimated effort

Medium

Compliance risk

Medium

Affected Reports

Consumer Duty outcomes monitoring pack for protection productsProtection product fair-value assessment fileProduct governance review and approval minutesAdviser quality assurance file for protection conversationsClaims and switching experience management information dashboard

Field	Validation rule

Recommended Actions

7 suggested next steps· derived from source analysis

1
AI generatedStep 1 of 7
Review the FCA’s Pure Protection Market Study findings against current protection product governance, fair-value, claims and switching controls; record conclusions and accountable owners.
2
AI generatedStep 2 of 7
Update Consumer Duty outcome evidence for protection products, focusing on customer understanding, foreseeable harm, fair value and support for vulnerable or underprotected groups.
3
AI generatedStep 3 of 7
Assess adviser and mortgage intermediary scripts, training and quality assurance to ensure protection needs are discussed clearly and consistently where relevant.
4
AI generatedStep 4 of 7
Evaluate whether consumer journeys could include appropriate protection prompts at life events such as home moves, renting, buying or becoming a parent, without creating pressure-selling risk.
5
AI generatedStep 5 of 7
Decide whether to attend the FCA webinar and whether to express interest in the TechSprint by 13 November, particularly where technology could address access, underwriting or advice barriers.
6
AI generatedStep 6 of 7
Review underwriting and medical-record request processes to identify avoidable delays and prepare for any ABI/FCA workstream outputs.
7
AI generatedStep 7 of 7
Brief senior management and relevant committees that the FCA has not announced new market-wide rules, but has signalled it will intervene where existing Consumer Duty or product governance requirements are not met.

Timeline

publication

Jul 9, 2026

FCA published announcement on partnership actions to improve protection insurance coverage and referenced publication of findings from its Pure Protection Market Study.

consultation deadline

Nov 13, 2026

Firms interested in taking part in the FCA TechSprint should express interest by this date.

Sources

AI-generated analysis is based on the following primary sources. Always verify against the official publication.

Press releaseFinancial Conduct AuthorityJul 9, 2026
FCA and partners join forces to help improve financial security for millions ↗
https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/fca-partners-help-improve-financial-security-millions
Market study landing page / findingsFinancial Conduct AuthorityDate not specified
Pure Protection Market Study ↗
https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/market-studies/pure-protection-market-study
Finalised guidanceFinancial Conduct AuthorityJul 27, 2022
FG22/5: Final non-Handbook Guidance for firms on the Consumer Duty ↗
https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/finalised-guidance/fg22-5-final-non-handbook-guidance-firms-consumer-duty
Handbook rulesFinancial Conduct AuthorityDate not specified
FCA Handbook: PRIN 2A The Consumer Duty ↗
https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/PRIN/2A/
Handbook rulesFinancial Conduct AuthorityDate not specified
FCA Handbook: PROD 4 Product governance: IDD and pathway investments ↗
https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/PROD/4/

Related Evidence

Verified source support for this analysis

The evidence agent checks whether the drafted finding is supported by official publications and relevant public source material.

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