Is this legal?

Mishomeister

So my understanding is that the FCA rules are that existing Home insurance customers should be getting the same deal as the new ones.
Yet as a new customer I can go via Top Cashback to Money Supermarket to earn £34 and then earn further £15 through Money Supermarket club . Yet Sky (and I woukd assume they are not alone with it) would not allow me to buy through the Money Supermarket as I get a message saying 'We already got your details, please call us'. So how making me  losing out on £49 can be seen as offering me the same quote? It looks more like bypassing the law to me as the quote is the same. But the incentives given by its agents/representatives are different?

powerful_Rogue

Mishomeister said:

So my understanding is that the FCA rules are that existing Home insurance customers should be getting the same deal as the new ones.
Yet as a new customer I can go via Top Cashback to Money Supermarket to earn £34 and then earn further £15 through Money Supermarket club . Yet Sky (and I woukd assume they are not alone with it) would not allow me to buy through the Money Supermarket as I get a message saying 'We already got your details, please call us'. So how making me  losing out on £49 can be seen as offering me the same quote? It looks more like bypassing the law to me as the quote is the same. But the incentives given by its agents/representatives are different?

Yup, all legal. You are getting the same price for the actual insurance as a new customer. Your just not getting the non guranteed 3rd party incentives.

dunstonh

So my understanding is that the FCA rules are that existing Home insurance customers should be getting the same deal as the new ones.

Yes and no.

The renewal quote should be the same as that offered for new business via the same distribution method if it is the same version of the plan.    If its a different version (e.g. budget vs standard vs comprehensive) then pricing can be different. 

Firms are also still allowed to offer a discount for retention. i.e. you phone up to cancel and they can offer a reduction to keep you.

Yet as a new customer I can go via Top Cashback to Money Supermarket to earn £34 and then earn further £15 through Money Supermarket club . Yet Sky (and I woukd assume they are not alone with it) would not allow me to buy through the Money Supermarket as I get a message saying 'We already got your details, please call us'. So how making me  losing out on £49 can be seen as offering me the same quote? It looks more like bypassing the law to me as the quote is the same. But the incentives given by its agents/representatives are different?

You are looking at third party incentives.  Not product pricing.

DullGreyGuy

Mishomeister said:

So my understanding is that the FCA rules are that existing Home insurance customers should be getting the same deal as the new ones.
Yet as a new customer I can go via Top Cashback to Money Supermarket to earn £34 and then earn further £15 through Money Supermarket club . Yet Sky (and I woukd assume they are not alone with it) would not allow me to buy through the Money Supermarket as I get a message saying 'We already got your details, please call us'. So how making me  losing out on £49 can be seen as offering me the same quote? It looks more like bypassing the law to me as the quote is the same. But the incentives given by its agents/representatives are different?

The rules say that for the same product (and we are talking much more granular than "home") and the same channel (phone, website, aggregator etc) then a renewing customer cannot be charged any more than a new customer would be. This price does have to consider financial incentives (cash back, vouchers etc) but not non-financial (cuddly toy) incentives offered by the seller themselves. Channel for renewing customers is considered to remain the same as their new business purchase. 

MS/TCB etc get paid by the seller for their services, they are free to incentivise you to buy via them rather than someone else by sharing their fees but as they are not actually the seller of the insurance that doesn't have to be considered when checking the rules. Same as if I were to add a link to Marshmallow Car Insurance on my site I'd get £40 for everyone who clicked the link and went on to buy... difference is 1) TCB will get more than me because of the volume they refer and 2) TCB decide to give you some of it whereas I would keep all of it for myself as ultimately my sites makes money by advertising.