In our last blog, Harry talked about how calculating redress can be challenging and full of unforeseen roadblocks.

>> If you missed our last blog, you can catch up here <<

Unsurprisingly, then, the idea of putting important redress provisioning work in the hands of an external partner can be intimidating.

But smart businesses know that outsourcing the right work at the right time is a great move, especially when it involves complex products like Defined Benefit pension transfers.

So here are Harry’s top four reasons why outsourcing your redress provisioning is the best thing for your business.

1. You don’t have to manage training and competency levels.

With the potential for a British Steel consumer redress scheme on the horizon, you need to ensure calculations are as accurate and reliable as possible. Your outsourcing partner will already have a fully trained and expert team, experienced in the DB transfers space, so you don’t need to worry about the risk of errors. You can easily tell the quality and credibility of an outsourcing team from their previous work.

2. Experienced specialist teams can do it quicker.

Without the distractions of other BAU work, external providers can not only kick-off your project more quickly, but they can complete it faster too. The extra experience and understanding of the complexities of DB transfer cases means an outsourced team could potentially have an estimate of your overall liability in less than two weeks, depending on volumes.

3. You can have your risk assessed by a truly independent party.

In-house teams can feel pressured or influenced by internal factors, and often this results in an inaccurate or overly optimistic estimate of your liability. But when there’s a lot at stake, you need absolute clarity about your liability – only then can you make informed decisions about the future of your business. In our experience, you can only get that from an independent, third-party provider.

4. You’ll curb the risk of reputational damage.

While it’s not yet necessary to do a full review of your past British Steel business, staying on the front foot and being proactive about delivering the right client outcomes, means you’re less likely to face damage to your hard-earned reputation in the eyes of the FCA and your clients.

…And here are four more for why outsourcing to us is even better.

1. We have expertise in the riskiest business and most complex products.

Not many internal teams, and few outsourcing providers, have our level of expertise when it comes to particularly high-risk and complex products like DB transfers. With us, you get a team of experienced actuaries who have calculated millions of pounds of redress in this area – including over 2,000 cases under the FG17/9 guidance.

>> Explore our case studies to see the type of projects we’ve worked on <<

2. You get more for your money.

We’ve spent the past 20 years helping the financial advice industry navigate regulatory obligations, and we understand the pressure the industry is under at the moment. So, we always try to find commercially balanced solutions that work for both the end client and your business.

3. It’s easier to manage changing business volumes.

The additional work involved in understanding your British Steel redress liability will put a strain on internal resource, particularly if they still have high levels of BAU work to contend with. The time and expense of hiring an internal team – even on a fixed-term basis – is a massive undertaking. Our flexible resource model means we can manage peaks in demand without any fuss. We grow and shrink our team to meet your requirements quickly.

4. You have access to end-to-end support.

While we wait for the outcome of the FCA’s discovery work, many of our clients are choosing to do a deeper dive into their back book and get a more accurate view of their liabilities. Our experienced review and redress teams work together closely to provide a seamless, fully managed service – taking the entire project off your hands and allowing you to focus on running your business.