Insights for consumers
It is important to regularly review your insurance policies to ensure you know what cover you have.
If you are unsure about your insurance cover, or want to check whether it still meets your needs, consider accepting your adviser’s annual review invitations to check that your cover remains suitable.
Tom’s mother ended up with two life policies
In 2010, Tom’s mother arranged a life policy through an insurance adviser.
In 2017, she took out another life policy through a bank. It appears she may have taken out the second policy when she refinanced her mortgage loan with that bank.
When Tom became involved
In 2023, Tom became the contact person for his mother’s policies. He contacted the adviser who had arranged the first life policy about reducing the sum insured to make the premiums more affordable. Both Tom and the adviser contacted the insurer about changing the 2010 policy.
Tom says he also asked the adviser about the second policy. He said the adviser told him that it provided income protection cover.
Tom’s complaint about the adviser
In 2025, Tom found out the second policy was a life policy, not an income protection policy. He complained that the adviser should not have let his mother have a second policy.
The adviser said they weren’t aware of the second policy until Tom made the complaint. They also said that Tom had not mentioned the second policy during the 2023 discussions.
Tom complained that the adviser had not discussed insurance cover with his mother or with him after he became her contact person in 2023. He complained to Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL).
FSCL’s review of the complaint
We reviewed the adviser’s full file, including phone calls and emails the adviser had sent Tom about reducing the sum insured in 2023. There was no mention of the 2017 policy or any record that the adviser had ever been told about the policy.
Annual reviews and client responsibility
The adviser’s file contained all the annual review invitations sent to Tom’s mother and to Tom from 2023 onwards. It is industry best practice for advisers to offer annual reviews, but it is the client’s choice whether to accept the invitations.
What was the outcome of FSCL’s investigation
We explained to Tom that we could not uphold his complaint because the adviser did not arrange the second policy or know anything about it. Tom was not happy with the outcome, but decided not to take the case any further.
