Declaración de vulnerabilidad

It is important to recognise that anyone can be or become vulnerable at any point in their life, and some customers may be at a higher risk of harm than others. SP Insurance Services uses the same definition as the FCA:

  • A vulnerable customer is someone who, due to their personal circumstances, is especially susceptible to harm, particularly when a firm is not acting with appropriate levels of care.

SP Insurance Services is able to offer extra support to help make banking easier for customers. With their consent, we can make a note on their accounts about any extra support they need. This means they won’t need to mention it again, and our colleagues can make sure we always offer the right help in the future.

What is a vulnerable customer?

A vulnerable customer is someone who, due to their personal circumstances, is especially susceptible to harm – particularly when a firm is not acting with appropriate levels of care.

This may be a customer with a physical impairment or limited understanding of the English language. Sometimes life events such as new caring responsibilities, a bereavement, divorce, or redundancy can lead to a customer becoming vulnerable.

Anyone can become vulnerable at any time and this may be temporary or permanent.

What should you do if you identify a vulnerable customer?

If the customer is happy to discuss and has given their permission, please ensure you record that the customer is vulnerable within the file notes, along with any supporting information.

Identifying vulnerability

You should look out for any evidence that a potential customer could be vulnerable and take extra care that they are not entering into a commitment which they don’t understand or may not be in their best interests.

You can use BRUCE to help identify vulnerability when you are interacting with your customers:

  • Behaviour and talk: is the customer acting out of character? Look for indicators of vulnerability through the customer’s behaviour and speech
  • Remembering: is the customer experiencing problems with their memory or repeatedly requesting information? Is the customer confused when asked basic questions such as personal details?
  • Understanding: is the customer showing they understand all of the information they are being provided with? Are they able to replay that information to you in a coherent manner? This would include the customer showing they understand the potential consequences both of making or not making their decision
  • Communicating: can the customer communicate their thoughts and questions and are they ultimately able to make an informed decision?
  • Evaluating: can the customer weigh up the information options open to them to make an informed decision?

A negative response to one or more of these questions, at any time during your interaction, suggests that further clarification is required as the customer could be vulnerable.

What to do when identifying a vulnerable customer.

You can use TEXAS to help you to structure your conversation where a customer has disclosed personal information indicating they need additional support.

  • T – Thank them, as it may have been a big step for the customer to share their situation. It’s important to acknowledge this and put them at ease
  • E – Explain any information will be captured and used to support them in identifying and recommending a suitable product or service, and may reduce the need for them repeat to themselves in the future
  • X – The customer must provide explicit consent and confirm they’re comfortable for you to record and share any sensitive information about their circumstances
  • A – Ask some additional questions, for example, do you require any additional time to make a decision to proceed? Is there any additional support you would like?
  • S – Signpost any potential support required, e.g. are there any appropriate third party support groups or charities which may help the customer?

Possible Vulnerabilities:

Here’s a list of possible vulnerabilities, although this it’s not full and comprehensive, there may be other reasons why someone may be vulnerable.

HEALTH

Health conditions or illness that affect the ability to carry out day to day tasks:

  • Physical disability
  • Severe or long term illness
  • Hearing or visual impairment 
  • Poor mental health
  • Addiction
  • Low mental capacity or cognitive impairment.

RESILIENCE

Low ability to withstand financial or emotional shocks:

  • Low or erratic income 
  • Over-indebtedness
  • Low savings
  • Low emotional resilience.

LIFE EVENTS

Negative life events:

  • Income shock i.e. retirement, job loss, redundancy or reduction in hours 
  • Bereavement
  • Relationship breakdown 
  • Domestic abuse
  • Caring responsibilities
  • People with non standard requirements such as people with convictions, care leavers, refugees or asylum seekers

CAPABILITY

Low knowledge of financial matters or low confidence in managing money (financial capability). Low capability in other arears such as literacy or digital skills:

  • Low knowledge or confidence in managing finances 
  • Poor literacy or numeracy
  • Low English skills
  • Learning difficulties

The TEXAS drill: simple steps to identify vulnerable clients.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Money Advice Trust have created a number of drills which act as a guide to working with vulnerable clients – and one is called TEXAS.

Its five simple steps take you through a conversation about vulnerability in a sensitive, fair, and legal manner.

So, if a customer divulges something sensitive (for instance living with the early stages of dementia, or facing bereavement):

  • Thank the customer and confirm that knowing this will ensure you manage their situation sensitively and appropriately.
  • Explain how the information will be used to fulfil your legal requirement on using this data (for example, we will only provide this information to people likely to interact with them in the processing of their policy).
  • EXplicit consent needs to be obtained to hold and use this data (again a legal requirement). Without this you may not for instance record ‘customer has mild dementia’.
  • Ask up to three key questions to better understand the situation. These could be: 
  1. How does your situation make it difficult to manage your finances? 
  2. How does the situation affect how you are able to communicate with us (this may or may not be obvious – for instance if the customer is profoundly deaf/sight impaired or living with a terminal illness)? 
  3. Do you have anyone to help you manage your finances such as a relative, carer or solicitor?
  • Signpost to internal or external help where appropriate. For instance: to a debt advice service if the customer has lost control of their finances; to bereavement counselling if they are not coping well with the loss of a partner or other loved one; to Samaritans (free phone 116 123) if they are in despair or referencing suicide. (See below page)

Embedding this process into your day-to-day activities will ensure a consistent and compliant approach that is in customers’ best interests. TEXAS will ensure GDPR compliance since explicit consent has been requested, both verbally and where calls are recorded electronically.

If you don’t get that explicit consent to record the information, but you record it nonetheless, you may find yourselves faced with data protection issues, especially if a subject access request is raised.

As in all things though it’s a matter of balance. Don’t let this get in the way of the moment if it does not feel the right time to explore. It needs to feel natural rather than forced and this may need coaching and practice to ensure it does not feel tacked on to the end of a conversation.

It is hoped, however, that this process will make it easier to unobtrusively ask questions that would otherwise feel invasive or awkward. Listening for signs of vulnerability and then using the TEXAS drill may put the customer at ease in divulging or expanding on information when they know you will use the information to ensure the best possible outcome.