The FCA’s consultation on a Consumer Duty, placing more explicit and higher expectations on firms’ standard of care towards customers, has implications for F&I in the motor retail sector.

This is according to Matthew Briggs, group chief executive at AutoProtect Group, who said that embracing the good outcome principle now in a business’ culture, processes, pricing and products, already makes sound commercial sense.

The FCA’s aim with the Consumer Duty is to “drive a shift in culture and behaviour for firms, meaning that consumers always get products and services that are fit for purpose, that represent fair value and are clearly communicated and understandable”.

By doing this, the regulator hopes to help consumers make good choices and be confident that they will receive good customer service.

The move is aligned to the FCA’s theme around creating good outcomes for consumers, raising the stakes for the personal accountability under the SMCR regime that rests with an individual in every regulated dealer or group.

Briggs said: “In today’s omnichannel car buying world, reputation is crucial. Creating good customer outcomes is central to this, and it is an area where added-value products and the partner selected are part of the equation.

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“Insurance products can provide peace of mind, but the acid test on value is often linked to a claim and the track record and reputation of a business when a claim is made. Smart insurance has an increasing role to play in reassuring and delighting customers according to all the data from our unique end-to-end Smart model.”

A dedicated app joins the firm’s SMART policy, the claims and fulfilment process in a unique ‘smart’ manner, as Briggs concluded: “Minor dings to our cars is a modern issue that we all understand. We have created a way in which the customer can claim 24×7 and have their car repaired at their home or office by our award-winning Shine! Mobile repair colleagues.”

AutoProtect recently appointed Tim Hudson to the newly-established position of group chief sales and marketing officer.

Hudson boasts extensive experience across the British automotive sector, having previously assumed board and C-level roles in leasing, manufacturer, auction and automotive data.