FBD fined €490,000 for consumer protection breach

FBD Insurance has been fined nearly €500,000 by regulators over consumer protection failures.

The insurance company has been reprimanded by the Central Bank and hit with a penalty of €490,000 for the mistakes.

The regulator found the company failed to ensure it had taken steps to comply with strict consumer rules for its intern operations and its outsourced business.

FBD had owned up to the errors and no customers were out of pocket as a result.

The investigation found the insurance company — in the market for 40 years and with about 500,000 clients — failed to give customers a point of contact and keep them up-to-date on the status of complaints.

The Central Bank said FBD did not tell customers they could refer their complaints to the financial ombudsman or switch a verbal complaint to a written one.

The company also failed to keep up-to-date records.

Customers were also not advised that loss adjusters, appointed by FBD, were acting in the company’s interests.

The regulator said steps have been taken by FBD to rectify the mistakes.

In a statement, the Central Bank said the penalty reflects the seriousness of the consumer protection breach, and said it was unacceptable for firms to outsource regulated activity without appropriate oversight.

Thirteen settlements have been secured by the regulator following breaches of the consumer protection code.

In a statement FBD said it had identified the breaches and reported them to the Central Bank.

“While we are obviously very disappointed that these breaches occurred, we are satisfied that they are legacy issues,” the company said.

“We are pleased that the Central Bank has confirmed that the appropriate remedial action was promptly taken by FBD. Most importantly we are confident that no customer was financially disadvantaged.”