As part of making Key Rules accessible, we have tried to stick with commonly used terminology. So we have used the terms ‘firm', ‘insurer', and ‘insurance contract' rather than the respective Handbook defined terms ‘insurance intermediary', ‘insurance undertaking' and ‘non-investment insurance contract' or ‘pure protection contract'. We have also reworded rules to simplify them and remove references that are not relevant to Key Rules. If you want to see what rule in the full Handbook a Key Rule is based on, just turn to the index on page 38. These Key Rules are based on the Handbook at 1 December 2006. We propose to publish a new version of these Key Rules annually, to keep them up to date. Key Rules are also available on the Handbook and Small firms section of the FSA website.

Key Rules are not formal guidance and do not have the status of guidance in the Handbook. You cannot use Key Rules to counter a charge of breaking our rules. In the event of any conflict between Key Rules and the Handbook, the Handbook takes precedence.

Click here to Download and read the FSA Key Rules for General Insurance

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