When the Safety Net Burns: What My Insurance Claim Taught Me About Vulnerability, Consumer Duty, and the FCA’s Role
In February 2023, a dehumidifier caught fire in my home, and burned all through the night. We were lucky to escape with our lives, but the smoke damage to my home was devastating. I was a single parent, recently out of a breakup, and still recovering from the traumatic COVID times. It was a moment of profound personal crisis — one that should have been cushioned by the promise of insurance. Instead, I found myself navigating a system that often felt indifferent to my needs, my voice, and my vulnerability.
It was this experience that led me to found Claim Guardians — a consumer group designed to help others going through the complex and often traumatic insurance claims process. Because I learned the hard way: when you’re at your most vulnerable, the system isn’t always designed to protect you. And it should be.
Vulnerability Isn’t Rare — It’s Human
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) defines vulnerability as being susceptible to harm due to personal circumstances. That’s not a fringe category — it’s a reality for millions of people every day. Grief, illness, trauma, financial strain… these are not exceptions to the rule; they are the rule, especially when people are claiming on insurance policies after suffering likely the most traumatic event of their lives.
And yet, in my own journey, I often felt unseen. I encountered systems — and people — that seemed better designed to manage risk than to care for individuals. I had to chase updates, challenge decisions, decode jargon, and repeat my story over and over just to be heard.
The Consumer Duty: A Welcome Shift, But Is It Enough?
The FCA’s Consumer Duty, introduced in July 2023, is a step in the right direction. It requires firms to:
Design products and services that meet real needs
Deliver fair value
Communicate clearly
Provide effective support, especially for vulnerable customers
It’s a powerful framework. But it only works if it’s embraced in practice — not just in policy documents.
Too many insurers still see vulnerability as an operational hurdle, not a human responsibility. Support is often reactive, not proactive. And while some firms are making real strides, others are merely ticking boxes.
Regulation Only Matters If It Protects Real People
The FCA plays a critical role — not just in setting expectations, but in enforcing them. In my experience, that enforcement felt distant, abstract. The gap between regulatory language and real-life consumer outcomes is still far too wide.
We need more than rules. We need consequences when those rules aren’t followed. We need transparency. We need to listen to lived experience. And we need to act.
What Needs to Change — Now
Empathy must be embedded: Firms must go beyond policies and train their people to respond to emotional, financial, and circumstantial vulnerability with care and flexibility.
Accountability must be real: The FCA must investigate and act on patterns of poor treatment, especially when it affects vulnerable consumers.
Consumers need allies: Services like Claim Guardians offer something the system often doesn’t — human support. We stand beside those who feel voiceless in the process.
A Personal Mission
This isn’t just a professional cause for me — it’s deeply personal. I know what it feels like to be at your lowest and still have to fight. And I know the difference it makes to have someone fighting with you.
No one going through an insurance claim — especially after trauma — should have to face it alone.
If you work in insurance, regulation, or financial services: I invite you to ask yourselves, are we doing enough? Are we truly delivering the outcomes we promise — especially for those most in need?
And if you’re someone who’s been through or is going through a tough claim: you’re not alone. Please reach out and join our community. Facebook - Claim Guardians.