Ireland: Central Bank of Ireland and Aviva

Following inspections during 2010 by the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI), Aviva L&P and Aviva Health were found to have inadvertently contravened a number of provisions (46, 47, 48 and 57) and a general principle 4 of the Consumer Protection Code (CPC).

We take corporate governance and our regulatory responsibilities seriously. The breaches were of a procedural nature related to the timing and communication method for handling customer complaints, rather than any deliberate effort to circumvent the provisions of the Code.

Aviva is fully supportive of the Code. Indeed, we have called for it to be applied to all financial services providers operating in the Irish market. We regret and accept that our implementation of these provisions of the Code failed to adhere to the correct letter of the Code.

However, as soon as the businesses became aware of the breaches we immediately took steps to put in place more robust controls and processes to ensure there is no repeat of the issues. In 2011, we have implemented across our business an enhanced complaints procedure which we are confident will meet the requirements of the Code and better protect customers.

In bringing this matter to a conclusion, we have now reached a settlement with CBI which reflects its acknowledgement that "the firm undertook immediate measures to rectify the issues that were identified on foot of the thematic review, including the implementation of new systems and procedures and an enhanced training programme in order to prevent in order to prevent reoccurrence". The CBI also took into consideration "the cooperation of the firm during the investigation and in settling at an early stage in the administrative sanctions procedure and that the breaches were not deliberate."

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Grainne Mackin   
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