You want to provide the best support for your clients, and we’re here to help you achieve that.
The Consumer Duty makes it very clear of the importance of the fair treatment of vulnerable customers. It is therefore crucial that, where appropriate, clients’ additional needs are recognised and noted.
Because you’re likely to have a closer relationship, and more regular contact, with your clients than us, where you think it will help us better service your clients, we need your help in capturing what these needs are. Together, this will enable us to provide a more tailored service to your clients and demonstrate how all parties are meeting their regulatory requirements.
How to capture your clients’ needs
There will be the optional opportunity to note additional needs in the following platform processes:
If clients disclose any additional needs when calling our Customer Service Centre, our agents are also able to flag these in the ‘Manage Details’ section, meaning we automatically share what we know with you. Your clients will not be able to see any additional needs you and we have noted on their account.
Important
For the most part all we need to note is what the client’s additional need is, but not necessarily the underlying reason for that need.
For example, we may need to know a client has trouble reading, but we don’t necessarily need to know that this is because they have cataracts.
However, if you feel that it serves the client’s best interests to confirm the underlying cause of the need, for example by letting us know they have dementia, you can note this as well.
Further support
We have created a set of support pages to help your clients understand what support is available to help with their needs. This may also be helpful for your own awareness of their needs and how you can give them extra support.
Thank you
We really appreciate your support in helping us provide the best possible service to your clients. We trust you agree that this deeper understanding of clients’ needs is mutually beneficial, allowing us to deliver better outcomes for them together.