London & Colonial Assurance PCC Plc (“LCA”), a life insurance provider based in Gibraltar, has adopted the MorganAsh Resilience System (MARS) to support its efforts to identify and support vulnerable customers in the UK and internationally.

LCA and sister life insurance company STM Life, also based in Gibraltar, support the UK and international markets through a range of flexible annuities and investment bonds. Both companies are part of the wider STM Group Plc, which specialises in retirement, estate and succession planning and wealth structuring, with offices in the UK, Gibraltar, Spain, Malta and Australia.

Following a successful trial, LCA has adopted MARS and its customer vulnerability assessment. This will support LCA in improving decision-making and customer service, by providing a comprehensive review of each client’s vulnerability and its severity. This fully supports LCA’s approach in meeting the requirements of UK regulation, including Consumer Duty, generating the necessary data for reporting.

In addition, the MARS platform will provide suitable recommendations for when a vulnerable customer is identified, to improve customer service and to help to ensure a positive outcome for the client.

MorganAsh launched its award-winning MARS platform to help firms understand and monitor vulnerable customers and to deliver good outcomes – as required by Consumer Duty. It is in use across the financial services and utilities sectors, enabling businesses to adopt a consistent approach to identifying vulnerable characteristics and generate an objective Resilience Rating – much like a credit score.

While the partnership marks the first international adoption of MARS, MorganAsh and its range of services are already used by companies in the UK, Ireland and Germany.

Peter Gatenby, Managing Director for LCA and STM Life, said: “With the implementation of Consumer Duty, we have focused our attention on reviewing and adapting our approach. Implementing MARS is a key part of our strategy to ensure we not only meet but exceed the expectations of our adviser partners and clients, but also of the UK regulator too. We’ve been very impressed and are thrilled to roll out the platform across our Gibraltar based life insurance companies.

“We are delighted to be working with the team at MorganAsh and look forward to delivering a greater service and more positive results for our clients.”

Andrew Gething, managing director of MorganAsh, added: “LCA is a great example of a company looking beyond their regulatory requirements to see the competitive advantage of understanding clients better to improve both service and outcomes. Good data is critical to this and, across multiple sectors, MARS has been generating the necessary intelligence to enable firms to make better business decisions and deliver a more tailored service.

“It’s fantastic to see LCA and STM Life fully adopting MARS for all their clients to improve customer understanding and engagement – even though their international clients are not subject to FCA regulation. It’s a powerful testament of MARS, but also of STM’s commitment to looking after all their clients.”