From 29 July 2022, the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) authorised Alternative Planning Company Limited (“APCL”) as a provider of pre-paid funeral plans. APCL is the funeral planning firm which belongs to the Funeral Partners Group, and APCL operates under the brand name “Choice Funeral Plans”. All funeral homes which belong to the Funeral Partners Group are able to offer Choice funeral plans to our clients.
Certain roles at Funeral Partners will require you to undertake regulated activity (offering funeral plans to our clients). To ensure compliance with the regulations, team members at Funeral Partners who are responsible for selling Funeral Plans and who are involved in regulated activity will be fully supported in order to achieve the required levels of knowledge, competence and in order to demonstrate the behaviours which are required by those colleagues.
All team members who are involved in regulated activity must:
- Understand and comply with the FCA’s 11 Principles for business
- Not discuss funeral plans with customers until they have been trained and passed an Initial Assessment
- Attend the required training courses in order to become competent as a plan seller
- Take ownership for their Continued Professional Development (“CPD”) throughout the year
- At all times, act in accordance with the FCA’s Conduct Rules:
- act with integrity
- act with due skill, care and diligence
- be open and cooperative with the FCA, the PRA and other regulators
- pay due regard to the interests of customers and treat them fairly
- observe proper standards of market conduct
- Support individual customers in accordance with the FCA’s consumer principles and cross-cutting rules which form part of the ‘FCA’s Consumer Duty’:
- Avoid causing foreseeable harm
- Enable customers to pursue their financial objectives
- Act in good faith towards customers
- Deliver the outcomes required from the FCA’s consumer duty by:
- Providing suitable communications in order equip consumers to make effective, timely and properly informed decisions about funeral plan purchases
- Not providing advice to customers as to whether to purchase a funeral plan. Instead, allowing the customer to make such a decision through careful following of the demands and needs process
- Providing customer service which meets the needs of consumers, enabling customers to realise the benefits of products and services and act in their interests without undue hindrance
- Take into consideration the needs of vulnerable customers
Full training will be provided to all colleagues who need to undertake regulated activity – you will be fully supported along the way.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask during the application or interview process.