SAIF Golden Charter

FCA: The first month

Following Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulation of the funeral plan market, Mark Moran, Director of Sales at Golden Charter, reflects on the first few weeks and the phenomenal response from independent funeral directors who are embracing the new world.

Putting the customer first

29 July marked a new era for pre-paid funeral planning and the culmination of an industry-wide effort for the benefit of customers. We’re delighted so many Independents have chosen us at Golden Charter as their funeral plan provider and partner of choice in this new regulated world.

Regulation’s introduction is a milestone moment for the funeral planning market, bringing reassurance for plan holders and their families. It’s clear that customers always come first in an FCA regulated environment; and that customer focus is something that independent funeral directors have always had at the heart of their businesses.

We look forward to continuing to work with our partners to give customers the comfort that their loved ones won’t have the added stress of planning a funeral during one of life’s most difficult times.

I’d like to extend our thanks to each of our partners for the significant effort they’ve put in to their regulatory journey. Hundreds of firms have already gone through our approvals process and are ready to sell or offer plans as appointed representatives and introducer appointed representatives. We’re pleased to continue supporting our partners as we adjust to these new ways of working to deliver the best service possible to customers. The significant growth in the funeral plan market in the last year*, coupled with the renewed customer confidence that regulation brings, offers those involved opportunities for the future.

Driving up standards

We have been closely aligned to the FCA’s customer-focused principles for some time now and we welcomed the regulator’s focus on driving up standards across the board. As a plan provider, we understand that the knowledge and expertise of independent funeral directors provides an invaluable service to families.

Funeral directors who have completed all of our regulatory preparations have demonstrated their customer-focused principles. They’ve given their families reassurance and added confidence in funeral plans to help strengthen customer relationships.

We firmly believe that together we have the opportunity to further increase customer confidence in funeral planning. Plan holders of a provider authorised and regulated by the FCA, such as Golden Charter, are provided with additional protection by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Meaning that in the unlikely event that a customer’s funeral plan cannot be fulfilled by the chosen provider due to firm failure, FSCS may provide compensation, subject to FSCS limits, or they may instead arrange for continuity of their plan through another authorised funeral plan provider.

We’re working with our partners to solidify existing good practices for the benefit of customers. The FCA regime complements your existing practices and builds on the great things we already do for customers. It’s encouraged us to explore new ways of working to expand the benefits available to plan customers. Some of these benefits were already available to Golden Charter customers, such as a well-funded and transparent Trust, a clear and fair cancellation policy, and access to a recognised complaints process. Regulation has brought new benefits too, such as regular funeral plan statements and a plan representative letter when the plan is taken out.

We welcome the added protections that regulation will bring to customers and are here to support our partners every step of the way. We pride ourselves on putting customers at the heart of our business and supporting the interests of independent funeral directors.

Finishing the Pathway

We developed our Pathway to Regulation to help support our partners to transition to a post-regulated market with ease. We’re delighted that over 2,500 people had attended our training programme before 29 July, showing their unwavering dedication to doing what’s right for the customer.

Hundreds of funeral director firms have now successfully completed our approval process and have received their marketing packs to allow them to offer our funeral plans to customers. If you’ve not yet completed the final steps of your Pathway to Regulation, please reach out to your Golden Charter business manager without delay. Completing your application now gives you the best opportunity to offer plans to your families with minimal delay. Remember, until you’ve completed our full application process and been approved by us, your business cannot sell or offer our plans.

If you’ve submitted your application to sell or offer Golden Charter funeral plans, we’ll be in touch if we need further information to support your submission. We’ll then provide you with your updated agreement to sign and you’ll need to complete the pre-sales training before being approved by us. We’re still offering webinars that help familiarise our partners with the new sales process. Get in touch with your Golden Charter business manager to sign up to a short session of your choice.

We’re still processing applications from funeral directors who have chosen to partner with us. If you’ve yet to receive approval from us or you’re unsure about where you are on the regulatory journey, get in touch with your Golden Charter business manager.

We’re continuing to offer our partners outstanding support now that we’re operating in a regulated environment. This extends to excellent Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities to help funeral directors meet the FCA requirement. We welcome applications from funeral directors who have yet to apply and would like to offer Golden Charter funeral plans. Contact us here to discuss how we can support you.

Switching to digital

If you’ve chosen to become an appointed representative, you can take advantage of our digital application platform. More of our partners than ever are using digital applications available at mygoldencharter.co.uk. Our digital system is super-fast, intuitive and reduces the chance of error or delays in processing an application. It provides the necessary prompts and checklists to help you deliver a regulation compliant sale and automatically creates an audit trail for all plans sold.

Switching to digital is an easy way to save yourself, and your team, valuable time. We’ve had great feedback from users, who tell us the system is simple, easy to use and quick to get the hang of.

We’re running refresher sessions to give users confidence in using our digital application system. These informal sessions are designed for all users, regardless of your level of experience, with our team on hand to help you get the most from paperless applications. If you’re interested in joining one of these sessions, email us.