The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is planning to begin work this year on implementing digital service standards for electronic death verifications.
It has previously floated the idea of requiring insurers to accept electronic death verifications to speed-up life insurance claims and has now included the measure in its annual work schedule.
As part of its five-year strategy goals to contribute towards sustained UK economic growth, the FCA said this year it will: “Consider new digital service standards, such as electronic verification of death, to speed up bereavement insurance claims.”
The proposal originally featured among a number of recommendations in a letter from FCA CEO Nikhil Rathi to prime minister Sir Kier Starmer.
It followed a scathing review of claims practices in the life insurance sector.
In November 2024, the FCA told life insurers to settle death claims quicker and improve how they monitor claims times or face further action.
It demanded significant improvements with many insurers failing to meet performance levels, called for industry-wide approaches to tackle common concerns and challenged insurers to reflect on the standards they set and quality of outcomes.
Pure protection market study
In the annual work programme for 2025-26, which was published alongside its business plan, the FCA also highlighted the ongoing pure protection market study.
It said this was intended to see whether people who buy protection products such as term assurance or critical illness cover are getting fair value and will assess if competition is working effectively in the market.
The market study was formally launched last month with an expanded scope after being first announced in August.
