The FCA today finally announced plans to ban opt-out add-on sales on insurance products.
Opt-out add on sales is the process of automatically including an additional product for which they need to un-tick a box in order to opt-out and not buy the product.
Typically sold with General Insurance products such as Home and Motor Insurance, the FCA review found that some customers were unaware they had any such options included in their premiums.
The ban would apply to any add-on sales of regulated or unregulated products offered alongside financial primary products, this includes legal expenses sold with home insurance, breakdown or key cover sold alongside motor insurance, or protection cover when taking out a mortgage or credit card.
The FCA will demand that firms provide consumers with the information required for them to make an informed decision on which add-ons options they may benefit from.
As a site that never automatically includes opt-out add-ons we welcome the FCA decision and feel that fewer consumers will end up paying for products they didn’t need or didn’t know they had.
