Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to prevent insurance companies from significantly increasing premiums for properties clad with non-ACM flammable materials.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Insurers make decisions about the terms on which they will offer cover following an assessment of the relevant risks. This is usually informed by the insurer’s claims experience and other industry-wide statistics. The capabilities of insurers to assess risk is a key element on which they compete. This competition is important and should lead to better products and lower prices for consumers.
However, the Government is aware of the concerns of those people in affected buildings. The Government has taken a number of steps that will have an impact on insurers’ risk assessments.
Firstly, the Government announced that it would take steps to reform the building safety system, and will review the progress of removing unsafe ACM cladding from affected buildings. In addition, the Government has implemented measures such as providing £1 billion in 2020-21 to support the remediation of unsafe non-ACM cladding materials on high-rise buildings.
More specifically on insurance, the Government announced that it will commission a review with the insurance industry to consider how Professional Indemnity Insurance can be provided to fire engineers and other construction professionals to ensure they have the confidence to advise on the fire risks associated with ACM cladding.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much and what proportion of the funding allocated to the Building Safety Fund in the Budget 2020 has been allocated to private leaseholders to date.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The £1 billion Building Safety Fund will be open to social sector landlords and private sector building owners who cannot afford to remediate unsafe cladding on buildings over 18 metres. The split of funding will depend on the circumstances of the landlord / building owner who make successful applications to the fund when the bidding process opens later this year.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what correspondence he has had with major insurance companies on the rate of pay-outs of business insurance in response claims relating to covid-19.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is in continual dialogue with the insurance sector about its contribution to handling this unprecedented situation. The Government is also working closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ensure that the rules are being upheld during this crisis.
For those businesses which have an appropriate policy that covers government ordered closure and unspecified notifiable diseases, the Government’s social distancing instructions are sufficient to allow businesses to make a claim against their insurance, provided the other terms and conditions in their policy are met.
The FCA’s rules require insurers to handle claims fairly and promptly; provide reasonable guidance to help a policyholder make a claim, and appropriate information on its progress; not reject a claim unreasonably; and settle claims promptly once settlement terms are agreed. In addition, the FCA has said that, in light of COVID-19, insurers must consider very carefully the needs of their customers and show flexibility in their treatment of them.
Furthermore, on 15 April, FCA sent a letter to the insurance industry, setting out the FCA's expectation of firms regarding their handling of business interruption insurance claims, urging insurers to settle claims quickly in cases where there was a clear obligation to pay the claim in full or in part.
In addition, on 1 May, the FCA published a statement setting out their intention to seek legal clarity on the handling of business interruption insurance claims, in order to resolve any doubt for businesses facing uncertainty on their claims. In their statement the FCA also noted that insurers should look at how they can help consumers who are experiencing financial distress as a result of COVID-19.
However, most businesses have not purchased insurance that covers losses from COVID-19. Insurance policies differ significantly, so businesses are encouraged to check the terms and conditions of their specific policy and contact their providers.
The Government recognises that businesses who do not have appropriate insurance cover will require support from elsewhere. As such, businesses should explore the full package of support set out by the Chancellor, which includes measures such as business rates holidays, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and wage support.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that insurance companies offer business insurance pay-out insurance claims related to covid-19 in circumstances where there is no provable case of that virus within that company premises.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is in continual dialogue with the insurance sector about its contribution to handling this unprecedented situation. The Government is also working closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ensure that the rules are being upheld during this crisis.
For those businesses which have an appropriate policy that covers government ordered closure and unspecified notifiable diseases, the Government’s social distancing instructions are sufficient to allow businesses to make a claim against their insurance, provided the other terms and conditions in their policy are met.
The FCA’s rules require insurers to handle claims fairly and promptly; provide reasonable guidance to help a policyholder make a claim, and appropriate information on its progress; not reject a claim unreasonably; and settle claims promptly once settlement terms are agreed. In addition, the FCA has said that, in light of COVID-19, insurers must consider very carefully the needs of their customers and show flexibility in their treatment of them.
Furthermore, on 15 April, FCA sent a letter to the insurance industry, setting out the FCA's expectation of firms regarding their handling of business interruption insurance claims, urging insurers to settle claims quickly in cases where there was a clear obligation to pay the claim in full or in part.
In addition, on 1 May, the FCA published a statement setting out their intention to seek legal clarity on the handling of business interruption insurance claims, in order to resolve any doubt for businesses facing uncertainty on their claims. In their statement the FCA also noted that insurers should look at how they can help consumers who are experiencing financial distress as a result of COVID-19.
However, most businesses have not purchased insurance that covers losses from COVID-19. Insurance policies differ significantly, so businesses are encouraged to check the terms and conditions of their specific policy and contact their providers.
The Government recognises that businesses who do not have appropriate insurance cover will require support from elsewhere. As such, businesses should explore the full package of support set out by the Chancellor, which includes measures such as business rates holidays, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and wage support.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that insurance companies act in accordance with corporate responsibility in response to claims in relation to covid-19.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is in continual dialogue with the insurance sector about its contribution to handling this unprecedented situation. The Government is also working closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ensure that the rules are being upheld during this crisis.
For those businesses which have an appropriate policy that covers government ordered closure and unspecified notifiable diseases, the Government’s social distancing instructions are sufficient to allow businesses to make a claim against their insurance, provided the other terms and conditions in their policy are met.
The FCA’s rules require insurers to handle claims fairly and promptly; provide reasonable guidance to help a policyholder make a claim, and appropriate information on its progress; not reject a claim unreasonably; and settle claims promptly once settlement terms are agreed. In addition, the FCA has said that, in light of COVID-19, insurers must consider very carefully the needs of their customers and show flexibility in their treatment of them.
Furthermore, on 15 April, FCA sent a letter to the insurance industry, setting out the FCA's expectation of firms regarding their handling of business interruption insurance claims, urging insurers to settle claims quickly in cases where there was a clear obligation to pay the claim in full or in part.
In addition, on 1 May, the FCA published a statement setting out their intention to seek legal clarity on the handling of business interruption insurance claims, in order to resolve any doubt for businesses facing uncertainty on their claims. In their statement the FCA also noted that insurers should look at how they can help consumers who are experiencing financial distress as a result of COVID-19.
However, most businesses have not purchased insurance that covers losses from COVID-19. Insurance policies differ significantly, so businesses are encouraged to check the terms and conditions of their specific policy and contact their providers.
The Government recognises that businesses who do not have appropriate insurance cover will require support from elsewhere. As such, businesses should explore the full package of support set out by the Chancellor, which includes measures such as business rates holidays, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and wage support.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government on the financial implications of the Grenfell Tower fire for leaseholders with properties clad in flammable materials.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
One of the Government’s most important duties is to ensure that residents – including leaseholders – feel safe and secure in their homes. That is why the Budget announced £1bn of additional funding to remove unsafe non-ACM cladding from private and social sector residential buildings above 18 metres. The Government expects building owners who have already committed to fund remedial works without passing on the costs to leaseholders to stick to these commitments.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that car insurance premiums do not discriminate drivers because of their ethnicity.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Equality Act 2010 prohibits firms from discriminating against consumers with most protected characteristics, one of which is race. Insurers can only discriminate based on a limited range of characteristics if they can provide objective, accurate, and reliable evidence that the consumer is at a higher risk of making a claim, and if the information they used to assess the application was used in a reasonable way.
Furthermore, firms are required to treat consumers fairly under the Financial Conduct Authority’s rules. The FCA is empowered to address misconduct, and where this has occurred it can undertake full investigations, and as a result impose financial penalties or even order firms to cease certain activities.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of whether drivers born outside the UK pay higher car insurance premiums than drivers born in the UK.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Equality Act 2010 prohibits firms from discriminating against consumers with most protected characteristics, one of which is race. Insurers can only discriminate based on a limited range of characteristics if they can provide objective, accurate, and reliable evidence that the consumer is at a higher risk of making a claim, and if the information they used to assess the application was used in a reasonable way.
Furthermore, firms are required to treat consumers fairly under the Financial Conduct Authority’s rules. The FCA is empowered to address misconduct, and where this has occurred it can undertake full investigations, and as a result impose financial penalties or even order firms to cease certain activities.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on safeguarding against discrimination in the car insurance market.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Equality Act 2010 prohibits firms from discriminating against consumers with most protected characteristics, one of which is race. Insurers can only discriminate based on a limited range of characteristics if they can provide objective, accurate, and reliable evidence that the consumer is at a higher risk of making a claim, and if the information they used to assess the application was used in a reasonable way.
Furthermore, firms are required to treat consumers fairly under the Financial Conduct Authority’s rules. The FCA is empowered to address misconduct, and where this has occurred it can undertake full investigations, and as a result impose financial penalties or even order firms to cease certain activities.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what processes his Department uses with further education institutions to verify a child's full-time attendance in education in relation to the eligibility for child benefit payments.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
HMRC does not approach education institutions to verify information regarding eligibility for child benefit payments. The claimant is required to provide all the information necessary to support their claim. Details on how to claim can be found on GOV.UK