FPCOB 16.2 Funeral Plan Resolution Manual

This section applies to a firm that carries out as provider:

1. (1)

   new funeral plans;

2. (2)

   subsisting funeral plans.

A firm must produce and keep up-to-date a funeral plan resolution manual which contains information about the firm that, in the event of the firm’s failure, would assist in resolving the firm’s business of carrying out a funeral plan contract as provider. It must, as a minimum, include a written explanation of each of the following:

1. (1)

   how the firm conducts the business of carrying out a funeral plan contract as provider, what the day-to-day operation of that business entails, and what resources would be needed to continue that business if the firm failed, including a specification of:

   1. (a)

      critical staff and their respective roles;

   2. (b)

      critical premises;

   3. (c)

      the firm’s IT systems;

   4. (d)

      the firm’s record-keeping systems, including how records are organised;

   5. (e)

      all relevant bank accounts and payment facilities;

   6. (f)

      all relevant persons outside of the firm, and their respective roles, including any outsourced service providers;

   7. (g)

      all relevant legal documentation, including trust deeds, insurance policies, and customer, service and supplier contracts, including any contracts with funeral directors; and

   8. (h)

      the firm’s group, using a structure chart showing:

      1. (i)

         the legal entities in the group;

      2. (ii)

         the ownership structure of those entities; and

      3. (iii)

         the jurisdiction of those entities;

2. (2)

   any steps that would need to be implemented under any arrangements in place to ensure that:

   1. (i)

      funeral plan contracts entered into by the firm will continue to be carried out by another firm; and

   2. (ii)

      any payments will be paid to customers or covered individuals where the relevant funeral plan contracts will not continue to be carried out by the firm or another firm.

3. (3)

   any terms in contracts that may need to be relied on to ensure the outcomes referred to in (2)(i) and (2)(ii);

4. (4)

   how to access any record of each funeral plan contract facilitated by the firm, including where this is required under FPCOB 16.1.5R; and

5. (5)

   how the firm’s systems can produce the detail specified in FPCOB 9 Annex 3 (Plan Statement) for each funeral plan contract entered into by it.

A firm must put in place arrangements to ensure that its funeral plan resolution manual would be immediately available to:

1. (1)

   an administrator, receiver, trustee, liquidator or analogous officer appointed in respect of the firm or any material part of its property;

2. (2)

   the FCA, on request; and

3. (3)

   the FSCS and any other person to whom the firm might want to provide it.