The way that consumer investment firms support bereaved customers is being reviewed by the City regulator to make sure that “people, not paperwork” are at the centre of the processes.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said research indicates that less than half (47%) of bereaved customers felt they received the support they needed from financial firms.
Its review will focus on companies that advise, manage, or administer investments, including platforms, advisers and wealth managers.
The FCA will examine the experience customers have from the moment the firm is told about a bereavement, through to the settlement or transfer of investments.
It will assess how firms communicate, how they support vulnerable customers, their service standards, and how account fees are handled.
Kate Tuckley, head of the FCA’s consumer investments department, said: “When someone loses a loved one, the last thing they need is confusing letters, delays and poor service from their financial provider.
“We want firms to design bereavement processes with people, not paperwork, at their centre.
“These processes are a real test of a firm’s culture and key to consumer trust.”
From May, the FCA will contact selected firms as part of the review and will publish findings later this year, highlighting good practice and areas for improvement.
It follows similar FCA reviews in retail banking and insurance.
In March, it emerged that savings giant NS&I is preparing to pay out hundreds of millions of pounds after failures meant that bereaved families were missing out on savings pots.
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NS&I, which is backed by the Treasury, does not come under the scope of the FCA.
Pensions minister Torsten Bell said in March that, while NS&I is not regulated by the FCA, “the Government expects it to live up to the same standards as regulated deposit-taking banks”.