The Financial Services Consumer Panel is urging the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to make radical changes to documents given to consumers at the time they buy investments and insurance policies.
The call comes in response to an FSA discussion paper on product information at the point of sale. One idea in the paper suggests it should be compulsory for advisors to verbally bring the documents to the attention of customers.
Chairman Colin Brown said: “Financial service companies have to send customers Key Features Documents when they buy financial products, but research shows that few consumers remember receiving them.
“Even fewer read them, understand them or think them important.” Brown adds that documents need major rather than cosmetic surgery to become simpler and more user-friendly.
