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Assessing Customer Needs in Insurance training

Seven microlessons on the ICOBS 5 demands and needs requirement: running a proportionate needs assessment, advised and non-advised sales, vulnerable customers and record keeping, with situational tests and a certificate of completion.

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Assessing Customer Needs in Insurance (UK) course preview
7Short, TikTok-style microlessonsIn the browser or the iOS and Android apps

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  • 2Assessments
  • 7Microlessons
  • IncludedCertificate of completion
About this course

What the Assessing Customer Needs in Insurance course covers

Every general insurance sale in the UK must start with the customer's demands and needs, whatever the product or channel. This course explains how in seven microlessons. It covers why understanding the customer is a regulatory duty, the ICOBS 5 demands and needs requirement and its roots in the Insurance Distribution Directive, how to run a proportionate needs assessment, the higher suitability standard for advised sales, what non-advised sales still require, and how to support vulnerable customers and keep records that stand up to scrutiny.

Learning outcomes

What your people will be able to do

  • Apply the ICOBS 5 demands and needs requirement to every general insurance sale
  • Run proportionate needs assessments with open and closed questions
  • Give justified recommendations in advised sales and keep suitability records for three years
  • Run compliant non-advised sales with clear demands and needs statements and neutral language
  • Adapt your approach for vulnerable customers and record the adjustments made
  • Use quality assurance and governance to prevent common failings
Course contents

7 microlessons

Each microlesson is a short, TikTok-style video lesson, with knowledge checks along the way.

1Why Understanding Your Customer Is a Regulatory Duty
2The ICOBS 5 Demands and Needs Requirement
3Conducting a Needs Assessment in Practice
4Advised Sales and Suitability
5Non-Advised Sales and the Statement of Demands and Needs
6Vulnerable Customers and Record-Keeping
7Roles, Common Failings and Building a Customer-First Culture

  1. Why Understanding Your Customer Is a Regulatory Duty: The demands and needs test and the harm it prevents.
  2. The ICOBS 5 Demands and Needs Requirement: What ICOBS 5 requires in every channel.
  3. Conducting a Needs Assessment in Practice: Open and closed questions, existing cover and records.
  4. Advised Sales and Suitability: When a sale is advised and the suitability standard.
  5. Non-Advised Sales and the Statement of Demands and Needs: Keeping a sale non-advised and the statement it needs.
  6. Vulnerable Customers and Record-Keeping: Adapting the assessment and keeping specific records.
  7. Roles, Common Failings and Building a Customer-First Culture: Common failings, responsibilities by role and culture.
A 5Mins certificate of completion for Assessing Customer Needs in Insurance (UK), lying on a desk next to a laptop
Certificate

A certificate for every learner who completes it

Learners finish every microlesson and complete the assessments. 5Mins then issues a certificate of completion for Assessing Customer Needs in Insurance (UK).

  • Certificates and e-signatures stored against each learner
  • Audit-ready records, ready whenever an auditor asks
  • Completion shows on the Compliance Dashboard in real time
Audience and regulation

Who it's for and the law it covers

Who it's for

  • Insurance brokers, advisers and sales teams
  • Contact center and online sales teams at insurers and intermediaries
  • Team leaders and quality assurance teams
  • Compliance and senior managers in general insurance

Laws covered

  • FCA Insurance: Conduct of Business sourcebook, ICOBS 5. Every general insurance contract proposed must be consistent with the customer's demands and needs, and advised sales must be suitable (ICOBS 5.3).
  • Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD). The EU directive behind the demands and needs requirement, implemented in the UK through ICOBS.
  • The Consumer Duty and FG21/1. Shape how firms support customers in vulnerable circumstances during the sale.
How it runs in 5Mins

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  • RepeatRecurrence

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  • CertifyCertificates

    Certificates and e-signatures are issued and stored for every completion.

  • ProveAudit-ready records

    See who is complete, at risk or overdue on the Compliance Dashboard, and prove it any time.

Customer stories

Compliance teams that swapped chasing for results

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ComplianceCompliance Training Insurance, 205 colleagues 100%

compliance completion and pass rate since go-live

  • ~1 day saved on each compliance course (HR estimate)
  • Automated reminders and reporting

Since go-live, our compliance completion and pass rates are 100%, and it's the quickest we've ever got there. Automated reminders and reporting save us about a day per course.

Laura ChappellLaura ChappellHR Director, Collingwood
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ComplianceCompliance Training Insurance and emergency accommodation 87%

less session time, from 2.5-3 hour sessions to modules of 25 minutes at most

  • 12 monthly sessions a year, up from 3-4
  • 95% content creation time saved

Our compliance sessions used to be two and a half to three hours in a room, and we could fit in three or four a year. Now we cover one topic a month, and I can see exactly what people are retaining.

Lucy WybornLucy WybornDirector of Learning and Development, ICAB
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ComplianceCompliance Training Legal services 80%

completion on mandatory training, up from 20%

  • Mobile microlessons finished between calls
  • Manager view of each team's progress

We were sitting at 20% completion on our mandatory training. We're now at 80%. People finish short lessons between calls, on mobile, and managers can see where their teams are, so chasing completion is no longer a one-person job.

Jamie WaltonJamie WaltonGroup Learning and Development Officer, Winn Solicitors
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ComplianceCompliance Training Fintech and digital banking On demand

training log showing who did what, when, and the pass rate

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  • Rolling refreshers through the year

When I engage with the FCA, I can show that every team has had training tailored to their role, that it's up to date, and that it runs throughout the year, with a full log of who's done what.

Abdul GofurAbdul GofurHead of Compliance & Anti-Financial Crime, nsave
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Your questions answered

Questions about Assessing Customer Needs in Insurance training

How long is the Assessing Customer Needs in Insurance course?

It's made up of 7 microlessons, each under 5 minutes. Learners can finish it in one sitting or spread it over a few days, and 5Mins sends reminders until it is done.

Is there a certificate?

Yes. Learners get a certificate of completion once they finish every microlesson and the situational tests. The record is stored in 5Mins for audits.

Does the demands and needs test apply to non-advised sales?

Yes. Every general insurance sale must be consistent with the customer's demands and needs, including online and non-advised sales. The fifth microlesson covers the statement of demands and needs.

How long should suitability records be kept?

For advised sales, the course covers keeping suitability records for at least three years, along with clear, contemporaneous demands and needs records.

Who should take this course?

Anyone who sells or arranges general insurance, by phone, face to face or online, plus their team leaders, quality assurance and compliance teams.

Can I try the course first?

Yes. Request a free sample lesson and book a short demo with our team. After your demo, we'll share sample lessons with you so you can see the format for yourself.

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