The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) has agreed to develop guidance for professionals working with victims of economic abuse.
Earlier this month, the Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) published a report outlining the impact of life insurance policies on victim-survivors of economic abuse.
It highlighted research by Aviva that showed two in five British adults have experienced a form of economic or financial abuse at some point during their lives.
The report, titled Life insurance and economic abuse: The challenges faced by victim-survivors of economic abuse in accessing and ending life insurance protection, was written by professor James Davey, of the University of Bristol, and Johnny Timpson, consumer panel member at The Financial Conduct Authority.
Sara D'Arcy, head of advocacy and communications at SEA, said: “Perpetrators of domestic abuse use every means possible to control a partner or ex-partner, including taking out life insurance policies to threaten victim-survivors and financially benefit from their deaths even after separation.
“In the worst cases, some abusers have used the financial benefits of taking out life insurance as an incentive to kill a victim.”
Ahead of International Economic Abuse Awareness Day this week (November 26), the CII welcomed the report and said it is looking for recommendations.
It has also agreed to develop guidance based on these recommendations.
“We are pleased that the CII has committed to tackling this issue by developing best practice guidance to help firms and practitioners support economic abuse victim-survivors,” D'Arcy added.
“We welcome the opportunity to support the CII in producing the guidance and continue to raise awareness of this important issue."
The report recommends that member organisations should develop an ‘industry-led code of best practice regarding how firms can support victims-survivors’.
The CII said it will work with members to produce good practice guidance for professionals, using the case studies and recommendations for practitioners in the report as a starting point.
Matthew Connell, director of policy and public affairs at the CII, said: “The report raises significant issues for insurers and advisers, and we will work with members to update our materials, to reflect the insights shared in this report.
“The consumer duty places a high priority on the treatment of potentially vulnerable groups, and this report will allow us to evolve our support for members on the implementation of Consumer Duty guidelines.”
sonia.rach@ft.com
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