The fine of £928,000, follows previous enforcement action taken against Swinton. In 2013 it was fined £7.4m after it adopted an aggressive sales strategy that resulted in mis-sales of monthly add-on insurance policies; and in 2009 the firm was fined £770,000 for failures in its sales of Payment Protection Insurance.
The add-on policies were personal accident, home emergency and motor breakdown.
Peter Halpin, former chief executive, was banned from acting as chief executive of a financial services firm. Anthony Clare, former finance director, and Nicholas Bowyer, former marketing director, have been banned from performing significant influence functions at financial services firms.
Tracey McDermott, director of enforcement and financial crime at the FCA, said: “A culture was allowed to develop within Swinton that pushed for high sales and increased profit without regard to the impact on the firm’s customers.
“We expect firms to put customers at the heart of their business. These three directors should have recognised the risk to customers and redressed the balance so that the drive to maximise profits did not jeopardise the fair treatment of customers.”
The group’s website more well-known by its North West brand Swinton Insurance, states it prides itself on its dedication to its customers and its honest listening approach, which was instilled in the firm by founder Ken Scowcroft.
McDermott said that staff with significant influence within firms are responsible for setting the tone and the culture and leading by example.
“Today’s enforcement action should serve as a timely reminder to those at the very top of firms that the FCA is determined to hold individuals to account where they fall short of the standard we require.”
The FCA has found that a sales-focused culture in Swinton was encouraged by Clare and Bowyer driving a business strategy that was designed to boost the firm’s profits in 2011.
The three former directors did not recognise the risk of this culture developing or take reasonable steps to prevent it.
Swinton’s participating directors (including these three directors) stood to gain a bonus of approximately £90m under the director’s share scheme if operating profits reached £110m in 2011. Halpin, Clare and Bowyer would have benefited significantly under the scheme had these results been achieved.
