FIN.

Insurance broker loses authorisation over non-compliance with FOS award

The Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) has upheld FCA’s decision to cancel the permission of Larksway Investments (an insurance broker), following non-compliance with a FOS award. FOS had upheld a complaint against Larksway in relation to a claim on a specialist landlord’s insurance policy, which Larksway was required to comply with promptly under DISP.  When it failed to do so, FCA decided to cancel Larksway’s Part 4A permission.

After Larksway referred the FCA decision to the tribunal, it failed to engage and serve a reply, at which point the tribunal directed that the reference should be struck out. The tribunal commented that there was no reasonable prospect of Larksway’s case succeeding, and that persistently failing to comply with a FOS award constituted evidence that the firm no longer satisfied the threshold conditions for authorisation.

Larksway was told by Judge Herrington that where a firm chooses not to challenge a FOS decision by way of judicial review, it has little option but to “grit its teeth, pay up and move on”.

FIN. Team