Regulation
Since January 2005 insurance intermediaries in the United Kingdom have been regulated by statute.
Our regulator is the Financial Services Authority (F.S.A.)
They are an independent body that regulates the financial services industry in the U.K.
They have been given a wide range of rule-making, investigatory and enforcement powers in order to meet four statutory objectives :
• market confidence: maintaining confidence in the financial system;
• public awareness: promoting public understanding of the financial system;
• consumer protection: securing the appropriate degree of protection for consumers; and
• the reduction of financial crime: reducing the extent to which it is possible for a business to be used for a purpose connected with financial crime.