Ethics and Insurance

I help insurers achieve greater certainty on ethical issues, both present and emerging. I have a reputation for foresight, pragmatism and independent thinking, particularly around data ethics. You can keep in touch with my analysis through my free weekly ‘Ethics and Insurance’ newsletter. Join below

What I do

Insight

I help insurers understand developments in insurance from an ethical perspective and the options open to them. My analysis delivers an extra level of understanding from an independent perspective

Critical Friend

Insurers face some ethical challenges at the moment – I’ve been tracking them for several years. My role as a critical friend helps them to reality check their thinking and turn a situation into a plan.

Horizon Scanning

I’ve been an influential figure in analysing the implications of digital insurance for several years now. Through workshops and research, my ethics radar highlights the problems and opportunities to look out for.

The Insurance Complex: A Bleak Future?

Insurance is becoming a performance market. For insurers to compete, consumers must perform, at first for a competitive premium, progressively for enough cover and eventually for access to the market. What emerges then is ‘an insurance complex’ that defines relations with consumers and society.…

Duncan Minty • 26 Apr 2023

Revolutionising Fairness – the Starting Point

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Fairness • 3 min read

Revolutionising Fairness – the Starting Point

If insurers are to address fairness seriously, they must find a new way of engaging with those challenging them. There are hurdles to be removed first though, including one that I always hear mentioned. Unless dealt with, competition law could put a brake on revolutionising fairness.…

Duncan Minty • 25 Apr 2023

Warning - don't let Fees turn into Expense Optimisation

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Underwriting • 8 min read

Warning - don't let Fees turn into Expense Optimisation

Retail insurers and brokers now charge all sorts of fees across the policy lifecycle. Innocuous on the outside, they raise distinct ethical questions when examined more closely. They also prepare the way for more pernicious practices like expense optimisation.…

Duncan Minty • 21 Apr 2023

How the Senior Manager Regime Could Undermine the Consumer Duty

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Accountability • 6 min read

How the Senior Manager Regime Could Undermine the Consumer Duty

It appears that the first enforcement action has been concluded under the UK’s Senior Managers and Certification Regime. Introduced in March 2016, the SMCR has taken seven years to reach this stage. So, what does this mean for other big-ticket initiatives like the Consumer Duty?…

Duncan Minty • 20 Apr 2023

Free Guide : Assessing Someone's Ethical Strengths

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Ethical Skills and Training • 5 min read

Free Guide : Assessing Someone's Ethical Strengths

There’s an increased emphasis now on the responsibilities and accountability of individual people working in the insurance sector. Part of this involves assessing the integrity of people in certain roles. So how might this be done, and what should you be looking for?…

Duncan Minty • 12 Apr 2023

Discriminatory Pricing – the Storm Clouds Move Nearer

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Discrimination • 8 min read

Discriminatory Pricing – the Storm Clouds Move Nearer

Further research into discriminatory pricing in UK motor insurance is keeping up pressure on insurers and the regulator to tackle the issue. And with signs that the challenge is evolving, insurers are in danger of failing to see how this issue will grow and impact the heart of their businesses.…

Duncan Minty • 10 Apr 2023

Insurers have a window to improve decisions around mental health

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Underwriting • 4 min read

Insurers have a window to improve decisions around mental health

The second strand of the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute’s campaign about travel insurance has emerged. Their best practice guide makes sense and insurers should welcome it. At the same time, it is likely to be a step towards a third strand, which will be much more impactful.…

Duncan Minty • 31 Mar 2023

The Poverty Premium could drive more Commission Transparency

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Fairness • 4 min read

The Poverty Premium could drive more Commission Transparency

People on low incomes pay a poverty premium for their insurance. It comes in two forms – the premium for their policy and the finance for paying premiums monthly. The annual figures are £300 and £160 respectively. So why does premium finance add on over a half more?…

Duncan Minty • 28 Mar 2023

Have EU insurers been Let Off the Hook on Pricing Practices

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Underwriting • 5 min read

Have EU insurers been Let Off the Hook on Pricing Practices

The EU insurance regulator has issued a supervisory statement on differential pricing practices. It illustrates just how much expectation and tension is still present around how personal and SME policies are priced. Their message is naturally high level, so what sort of impact will it have?…

Duncan Minty • 22 Mar 2023

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