The Nominee process is in place to allow policyholders to appoint another person (“the Nominee”) to help them manage their products with us.
This process is something we offer as a firm to support our policyholders and is separate to any legal arrangements that a policyholder may have in place such as Power of Attorney.
Any policyholder can setup a nominee, there is no restriction on who the nominee has to be and it can be in place on any product. Adding a nominee can be useful due factors such as their employment and lifestyle that leaves people with limited time during our business hours as well as being a tool to help support vulnerable policyholders who find that contacting us may be difficult due to health concerns or other wellbeing issues.
Policyholders who may find having a nominee useful could include:
- People who travel for work.
- People who work unsociable hours and find it hard to call during our business hours.
- Parents with young children who struggle to get quite time to have a call that can be complex and needs their full attention.
- A couple with a policy where only one person is named.
- Young Drivers who are new to having insurance and like the option of a parent being able to speak to us.
- Elderly policyholders who are finding it more difficult to hear on a call or read their paperwork.
- Someone with an illness who may not be able to discuss matters with us if their condition is bad or because of being in hospital for treatment.
We don’t have to wait for a policyholder to ask us about adding a nominee, where you identify a policyholder that you think might benefit for any reason, let them know they facility exists. Even if they don’t take up the option immediately, at least they will be aware of it in future.
What can you do with a Nominee?
- Discuss the policy with us including any on-going queries and matters to do with payments – Effectively you can talk to the nominee as if they are the policyholder.
- Carry out a mid-term adjustment.
- Renew the policy with an existing insurer.
What can you NOT do with a Nominee?
- Put new business in place
- Complete transferred new business for a renewing policyholder – The renewal can be discussed with the Nominee and a quote given but we must always speak to the policyholder to verify the details remain correct, advise of any important features or exclusions and read any relevant scripts.
- Cancel the policy – We can discuss the process, costs involved and any consequences with the nominee but final permission must always come from the policyholder.
While these limits may sometimes feel like they prevent you helping the policyholder the way you hoped to or from getting the sale, they are in place for good reasons. We want to do the best for the policyholder and that includes making sure we do things right every time. Doing more with a nominee might fix a short issue but it can risk serious longer-term problems including no covers, non-disclosures, cancellation or voiding of policies, claims not getting paid, complaints, regulatory breaches and data protection issues.
What if you think there are exceptional circumstances, or we have a Vulnerable Customer?
We also understand that it is hard to cover all eventualities with a single process and that you may encounter difficult situations where you feel we need to go a bit further than the standard process allows. As a company with a focus on the needs of our policyholders we will try to be flexible while ensuring we do things right and don’t create a risk of longer-term harm for a vulnerable policyholder.
So, in line with the Vulnerable Policyholder Policy if you think a policyholder is potentially vulnerable and requires additional assistance you should refer the case to you manager. They can look at what additional measures may be available in exceptional circumstances and refer to other business areas for advice if required i.e. to Compliance, Accounts, Training etc.
For other exceptional circumstances, such as a parent who is purchasing a car for their child as a surprise for a birthday or passing their test, then these should continue to be referred to a Senior Manager for consideration and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Where any additional assistance or actions are agreed make sure this is noted clearly on the policy record.