The UK Financial Services Authority has praised a number of insurance companies, after revealing that it had found a significant improvement in the standard of general insurance press advertising. The regulator had raised concerns in January 2007, which initiated a review into the use of savings claims in these adverts.
The review of all home and motor insurance advertising appearing in the national press over a 10-day period in April 2007 found that 94% of advertisements issued by 28 firms fairly and accurately described what savings consumers would be able to achieve, while 6% contained misleading savings claims.
This compares to the January 2007 review, when the Financial Services Authority (FSA) discovered that 45% of home and motor insurance press advertising made misleading savings claims.
Vernon Everitt, the FSA’s director of retail themes, said: We said in January that firms needed to shape up and fast, so this progress is good to see. What really matters now is that standards remain consistently high across print, broadcast and other advertising and we will be watching to make sure that they do.
In the meantime, consumers should always look beyond headline savings and other claims to ensure that the cover on offer is right for them. The jargon-free, impartial information about insurance on our moneymadeclear website will help people get the right deal for them.
The regulatory body has told the small number of firms that failed to produce advertisements of the required standard to take immediate steps to deal with its concerns.