Markets in Financial Instruments Act 2018
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Amendment of definition of “long-term financial service” in Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Act 2017 | ||
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9. (1) Section 2 (1) of the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Act 2017 is amended by the substitution of the following for the definition of “long-term financial service”: | ||
“ ‘long-term financial service’ means— | ||
(a) subject to paragraph (b) and subsection (3), a financial service the duration of which is a fixed term of 5 years and one month, or more, but, notwithstanding that the aggregate term of them may be 5 years and one month (or more), there does not fall within this paragraph a series of consecutive terms in respect of a financial service’s duration (provided no individual one of them is 5 years and one month, or more, in length), or | ||
(b) a financial service that is— | ||
(i) life assurance to which, by virtue of Regulation 4 of those Regulations, the European Communities (Life Assurance) Framework Regulations 1994 ( S.I. No. 360 of 1994 ) apply (not being life assurance falling within Class VII defined in the first Annex thereto), or | ||
(ii) life assurance to which the European Union (Insurance and Reinsurance) Regulations 2015 ( S.I. No. 485 of 2015 ) apply (not being life assurance falling within paragraph 7, 8 or 9 of Schedule 2 thereto), | ||
regardless, in either case, of whether the term of such life assurance is fixed at a specified calendar period or not;”. | ||
(2) Section 2 of the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Act 2017 is amended by the insertion of the following after subsection (2): | ||
“(3) Notwithstanding the fact that the financial service does not fix its duration to be of a term such as is referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition of ‘long-term financial service’ in subsection (1), a financial service shall be regarded as falling within that definition if it would be reasonable for a consumer to expect its duration to be of at least the length referred to in that paragraph and that reasonable expectation arises by reason of— | ||
(a) the manner in which the financial service operates to provide a financial benefit to the consumer, | ||
(b) the type of assets with which its operation is connected, or | ||
(c) representations made by the financial service provider, | ||
as distinct from where such an expectation arises in the case of— | ||
(i) a current account with a financial institution, or | ||
(ii) any other financial service of an indefinite duration that is widely available and does not possess specialised characteristics.”. |