Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc : RBS Insurance responds to FSA settlement

RBS Insurance responds to FSA settlement 18th January 2012

U K Insurance Limited (UKI), the UK based general insurance underwriter of RBS Insurance, has agreed a settlement on behalf of Direct Line Insurance PLC (Direct Line) and Churchill Insurance Company Limited (Churchill) with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) due to breaches of the FSA's Principle 2*. This relates to the way that the firms responded to an FSA request for a sample of closed files between 8th April 2012 and 16th April 2010, and the level of due skill care and diligence demonstrated in their collation.

The FSA found that the firms had failed to take adequate steps to ensure that some of the 50 closed files which they had requested for review were not altered before they were provided to the FSA. While the FSA acknowledge that the majority of the alterations were minor in nature, RBS Insurance has fully acknowledged the failings and agreed to settle at an early stage. This has resulted in a reduced financial penalty of £2,170,000.

Paul Geddes, CEO, RBS Insurance said:

"We very much regret the findings of the FSA investigation. Although no customers were disadvantaged, we are very disappointed that we did not meet the standards we expect of ourselves and which the FSA expects of us. We acknowledge the shortcomings identified in the findings and since becoming aware of this issue well over a year ago have taken action to address these issues and to ensure we avoid such breaches in the future."

UKI co-operated fully with the FSA throughout the investigation, including undertaking a detailed internal investigation which the FSA was able to rely upon.