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You want to provide the best support for your clients, and we’re here to help you achieve that.
The Consumer Duty makes it very clear of the importance of the fair treatment of vulnerable customers. It is therefore crucial that, where appropriate, clients’ additional needs are recognised and noted.
Because you’re likely to have a closer relationship, and more regular contact, with your clients than us, where you think it will help us better service your clients, we need your help in capturing what these needs are. Together, this will enable us to provide a more tailored service to your clients and demonstrate how all parties are meeting their regulatory requirements.
How to capture your clients’ needs
There will be the optional opportunity to note additional needs in the following platform processes:
- Below the correspondence preferences we’ve added an additional needs section. The radio buttons default to “no”. When you select “yes” you are shown 4 category options – you may select any that are relevant
- Selecting a category will expand a list of needs that fall within it – you may select any that are relevant
- When you have selected a need, you will be asked to describe the permanence of the need (options are permanent, temporary or transient)
- If you think it will be helpful for us in the ongoing servicing of the client, you may use the dropdown menu below these options to select a reason for the clients additional need. We appreciate that this could be extremely sensitive information so please only detail this if it is within your clients’ best interests for us to know.
- The new business review page will show the need(s) you have noted.
- Click on “Manage Details” from the head account page
- Under “Other information” you can see a section at the end for “Additional need” (defaults to “none”)
- Click on the “Edit” button at the right of the section
- The “Additional needs” option appears at the bottom of this section. When you select “yes” you are shown 4 category options – you may select any that are relevant. If “Additional needs” have been previously captured, they will be displayed and you will be able to amend or remove them
- Selecting a category will expand a list of needs that fall within it – you may select any that are relevant
- When you have selected a need, you will be asked to describe its permanence (options are permanent, temporary or transient)
- If you think it will be helpful for us in the ongoing servicing of the client, you may use the dropdown menu below these options to select a reason for the clients additional need. We appreciate that this could be extremely sensitive information so please only detail this if it is within your clients’ best interests for us to know.
| Additional needs | Health | Life Events | Resilience | Capability |
| The client has services or technology that enables them to hear | X | |||
| The client has services or technology that enables them to read | X | X | ||
| The client is not online and prefers to be contacted via post where possible | X | |||
| The client is not online and prefers to be contacted via telephone where possible | X | |||
| The client is unable to sign their name and requires an alternative to providing a wet signature | X | X | ||
| The client prefers to be contacted via email wherever possible | X | |||
| The client prefers to be contacted via post wherever possible | X | |||
| The client prefers to be contacted via telephone wherever possible | X | |||
| The client requires English language support so would prefer to speak to us when a trusted person is with them to help | X | |||
| The client would like additional time and patience on phone calls | X | X | X | |
| The client would like to be with a trusted third party or relative when speaking with us | X | X | ||
| The client would like us to speak slowly and clearly on phone calls | X | X | ||
| The client uses the text-to-speech service Relay UK for phone calls | X | X | ||
| For client servicing awareness only | X | X | X | X |
| OTHER - please contact us with details | X | X | X | X |
If clients disclose any additional needs when calling our Customer Service Centre, our agents are also able to flag these in the ‘Manage Details’ section, meaning we automatically share what we know with you. Your clients will not be able to see any additional needs you and we have noted on their account.
Important
For the most part all we need to note is what the client’s additional need is, but not necessarily the underlying reason for that need.
For example, we may need to know a client has trouble reading, but we don’t necessarily need to know that this is because they have cataracts.
However, if you feel that it serves the client’s best interests to confirm the underlying cause of the need, for example by letting us know they have dementia, you can note this as well.
Further support
We have created a set of support pages to help your clients understand what support is available to help with their needs. This may also be helpful for your own awareness of their needs and how you can give them extra support.
Thank you
We really appreciate your support in helping us provide the best possible service to your clients. We trust you agree that this deeper understanding of clients’ needs is mutually beneficial, allowing us to deliver better outcomes for them together.