Marketplace
We are committed to putting our customers first and making sure we continue to improve our services.
Our corporate responsibility extends to our customers and how we engage with the companies in which we invest.
Treating Customers Fairly
We are passionate about treating customers fairly; it’s central to everything we do. We have a proud history of successful product innovation and our customers have always been an important part of this success.
Treating customers fairly (TCF) is a core FSA principle intended to promote the fair treatment of customers from product inception through to post-sales support. It’s more than that though, it’s good business sense.
Whenever we introduce a new product or proposition, we consider the potential risks to consumers. We carry out research, analysis and stress testing beforehand to ensure the product deals with such risks adequately. We also review existing products to check for TCF issues.
We’ve worked hard to embed TCF into our culture and to support intermediaries in its application to their clients. We want all our employees to think about TCF, not as a regulatory initiative, but as a common sense principle.
Customer Impact
Our reputation with our customers is a prime focus for us all at Royal London.
As part of our commitment to TCF we take part in the Customer Impact Scheme, which is led by the Association of British Insurers. The Scheme is a concerted effort by our industry to improve customers’ experiences and be openly accountable for performance.
Four of our businesses are eligible for inclusion in the Scheme and all four take part in it, using the survey results to benchmark their performance and ensure we improve year on year. For more information and to view their reports please visit our Customer Impact page in the Corporate Governance section.
Institutional Shareholders
Our responsibilities in relation to the companies we invest in lie with RLAM, our asset management business. RLAM reviews the governance arrangements of the companies in which we invest to check they are being properly directed and controlled.
RLAM also gets involved in environmental and social issues in relation to the companies in which we invest.
RLAM was part of the process where the Institutional Shareholders’ Committee produced a new code of responsibility for institutional investors. The code sets out seven principles of best practice that institutional investors should follow if they choose to engage with the companies in which they invest.
RLAM is signatory to the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment. This acts as a framework for global best practice in responsible investment and is now supported by over 800 institutions in 45 countries.
For a number of years we have also been a signatory to the Carbon Disclosure Project, which encourages large global businesses to report on and reduce their carbon footprint.