Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to help support people in the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community to obtain (a) buildings and (b) contents insurance.

Insurers make commercial decisions about the terms on which they will offer cover following an assessment of the relevant risks. However, the Government is determined that insurers treat customers fairly and insurers must comply with the relevant legislative and regulatory rules.

The Financial Conduct Authority’s rules require insurers to treat their customers fairly and the FCA has robust powers to act against firms that do not comply. The UK Government is also committed to tackling discrimination and the Equality Act 2010 providers legal protections from discrimination due to protected characteristics. This means insurers cannot use ethnicity as a risk factor when determining the price of insurance.

Customers who feel they have not been treated fairly by their insurer are able to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service, the independent body established to provide arbitration in such cases.