We’ve created these frequently asked questions to help you to prepare for the Duty
Consumer Understanding and Consumer Support FAQs
We focused on making sure we have a set of frameworks and customer policies that support the requirements. We used the robust foundation of an enhanced set of Customer Standards to do this. These Customer Standards describe our expectations of the business in designing and managing propositions that deliver good customer outcomes.
We used these standards to support the review of priority customer journeys and communications against the requirements of the Duty, including customer understanding.
We used external consultants to help us identify any gaps we had in our approach to supporting Customer Understanding. A gap analysis was produced by the consultants in 2022 and our own SMEs worked though this to make sure our frameworks and policies are enhanced where necessary, and any high priority changes identified. Detailed work has been conducted in the areas below, and where deemed necessary priority actions were put in place.
Customer outcomes testing
Communications framework
Communications testing
Priority customer journeys
We identified scenarios and journeys where there is a higher risk of customers not achieving good outcomes. We used the cross-cutting rules to assess the potential risk of poor customer outcomes in the journey, including risks related to customer understanding, and identified some enhancements which will be implemented on a phased basis.
We found a small number of areas where we believed action should be taken to better support good outcomes rather than fair outcomes. These items were prioritised for July 2023.
We have fully engaged with third party suppliers on an ongoing basis and have worked with them to ensure compliance.
Vulnerable customers FAQs
Standard Life has developed an award-winning Vulnerable Customer Strategy, developed and delivered by a team of experts. The team is continually looking for opportunities to increase our support for customers with vulnerable characteristics. This has been a core focus of our ongoing assessment for the Duty, meaning we’ve carefully considered the needs of vulnerable customers (or those that may develop vulnerable characteristics) across each of the outcomes.
Our awards:
CCA Excellence Awards – Most Effective Vulnerability Strategy
Collaboration Network – Best Approach to Vulnerability 2022
For each of the foreseeable harm scenarios identified, each one was assessed on whether they have a lesser or greater impact due to potential customer vulnerabilities and that the approach to each harm considers those vulnerability aspects.
On an ongoing basis, the vulnerable customer framework will be part of the governance process of assessing new harms and appropriateness of existing mitigants for known harms. This will ensure a consideration of vulnerable customers when assessing foreseeable harm.
Awards and recognition
Did you know Standard Life has been recognised for supporting vulnerable customers?
CCA Excellence Awards
We are the proud winners of the Customer Contact Association award for the most effective Vulnerable Customer strategy 2022.
Engage Awards
We won the Best Customer and Employee Engagement Programme at the Engage Awards 2021 in for our work with Cowry Consulting.
Explore other outcomes
Outcome 1: Products and Service
Our product governance approach means that we’ve been focused on where the thematic requirements apply. This approach has been taken after working with independent consultants on a gap analysis, to identify where our focus needed to be.
Our Fair Value assessment considers the whole customer proposition, looking at product, investment, service, communications and support. Find out what we’ve done to make sure our products offer fair value to customers
This website is for financial advisers only and must not be relied on by anyone else. If you’re not an adviser, please go to our customer website for more information about our products and services.
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