Scottish Widows was one of six companies to come under FCA scrutiny in March 2016.
The thematic review followed concerns about the transparency of exit and penalty charges in the firms’ respective closed-book life insurance policies.
“No inferences should be drawn from the closure of the Scottish Widows case concerning the continuing investigations,” the FCA said.
Investigations into Prudential, Countrywide Assured, Old Mutual and Abbey Life are ongoing and no decisions have been reached at this stage, the UK watchdog said.
In September 2017, the regulator announced that it had closed its investigation into the sixth firm, Police Mutual, “with no further action”.
Co-operation
When contacted by International Adviser in September 2017, a spokesperson for Old Mutual said: “We take the outcomes of our customers very seriously. We are working with the FCA and fully co-operating with their ongoing review.”
At the same time, a spokesperson for the Phoenix Group, which acquired Abbey Life in September 2016, told IA that the company is continuing to support the regulator with its investigation.
