Context
The FCA has published a Decision Notice cancelling L R Kennedy Insurance Services (“the firm”)’s Part 4A Permissions to carry on regulated activities. Based on the facts of the case, the FCA believes that the firm is no longer ‘fit and proper’.
Key points to note and next actions
- The firm, despite repeated requests, failed to complete the FCA’s general insurance pricing practices online survey questionnaire in March 2022, failed to submit a REP022 (including the Attestation) in March 2023, and also failed to submit its REP022 and Attestation in March 2024.
- After three years’ worth of absent reporting (March 2022, 2023, and 2024), the FCA e-mailed the Firm in August 2024 (28 months after the first absent survey) in relation to the unsuccessful attempts it had made to contact the firm to discuss the outstanding returns. No response was received from the firm.
- The FCA considers that, by failing to respond to the questionnaire and the FCA’s repeated attempts asking it to respond and submit the outstanding returns, the firm:
- has failed to comply with Principle 11 and has failed to deal with the Authority in an open and co-operative way;
- has not demonstrated that it is ready, willing, and organised to comply with the requirements and standards under the regulatory system; and
- is failing to satisfy the suitability Threshold Condition (the FCA is not satisfied that the firm is a fit and proper person and is unlikely to be managed in such a way as to ensure that its affairs will be conducted in a sound and prudent manner.