Fair Conduct Programme
Why should I read this?
As a licensed insurer and registered Financial Advice Provider, AA Insurance is required to establish, maintain, and implement a Fair Conduct Programme (FCP).
The purpose of our FCP, summarised below, is to outline how we maintain appropriate conduct towards our customers in all aspects of our business. This aligns with AA Insurance’s overarching vision of ‘earning the trust of every New Zealander by protecting what matters the most’.
What is the Fair Conduct Principle?
The Financial Markets Amendment Act 2022 has an overarching principle that ‘financial institutions must treat consumers fairly’, including by:
paying due regards to consumers interests
acting ethically, transparently and in good faith
assisting consumers to make informed decisions
ensuring that the relevant services and associated products that AA Insurance provides are likely to meet the requirements and objectives of likely consumers (when viewed as a group), and
not subjecting consumers to unfair pressure or tactics or undue influence.
This principle applies when AA Insurance:
designs services and products for consumers
offers to provide those services and products to consumers
provides those services and products to consumers, and
has any dealings or interactions with a consumer in relation to AA Insurance services or products.
Compliance with the Fair Conduct Principle
AA Insurance’s FCP requires our people to follow processes and procedures to support our compliance with the Fair Conduct Principle and all other consumer protection legislation (e.g. the Fair Trading Act and Consumer Guarantees Act).
We manage compliance with the Fair Trading Act, Consumer Guarantees Act and the fair dealings provisions of the Financial Markets Conduct Act using the following established processes:
Mandatory induction and compliance training and setting clear expectations of conduct for our people
Having a Risk Management Programme to provide assurance and oversight for all business activities (including incident management)
Thorough risk and compliance processes in place, including legal input where required
Dedicated claims management services including in-house claims teams at each stage of the lifecycle of the claim so our people can effectively support our customers, as well as a broad quality supplier network to help customers during the claims process.
Ongoing product portfolio reviews to assess whether our products meet the needs of our customers, conducting research to help improve our products, and determining how we distribute our products
Quality assurance processes, including undertaking supplier quality assurance checks
Having a dedicated customer resolution team, providing a range of ways for our customers to contact us, and outlining our responsibilities and timeframes for communicating with our customers.
AA Insurance Limited is a Financial Advice Provider (FAP), and holds a licence issued by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) to provide financial advice. You can verify this information by checking the Financial Service Providers Register at www.fspr.govt.nz.
As a FAP, we engage Nominated Representatives to give financial advice to you on our behalf. AA Insurance Limited’s Nominated Representatives can only provide financial advice about general insurance products issued by AA Insurance Limited, to help you make informed decisions regarding your insurance.
You can read our FAP Disclosure Statement here or contact us to seek more information on our FCP at any time.
What happens if you have a complaint?
If at any time you consider we have breached the Fair Conduct Principle as described above, or are unhappy with our service or Nominated Representatives, you can contact us using the details below.
We have Team Leaders on hand to assist you and we can involve a Senior Manager if necessary. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, we have a Customer Resolution Service available to assist you. If this service is unable to resolve your issue, then you may refer your complaint to the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman.