Most Britain’s are concerned about what the UK will be like after Brexit, whether it will affect exchange rates, interest rates, inflation, the overall economy, business, and trade. But imagine being one of an estimated half a million ex-pats living abroad in Europe, there’s a lot more concerns such as how long will you be able to stay abroad on a UK passport without having to return to the UK, will you need a Visa to live in Europe, will your pension get paid as normal, and will your bank account still be open?
Intasure, an insurance provider based in the UK, explains what will happen post-Brexit to the financial services industry in the UK, and how that will affect ex-pats.
Current Financial Services Arrangements in the European Union
Right now UK based financial institutions benefit from a passporting arrangement whereby as members of the European Union they can operate within the European Economic Area through opening branches, selling cross-border products and appointing agents in certain countries.
Without that in place a UK based company can only sell products and services within their own country. So come Brexit and potentially unless new arrangements are agreed along those lines, the business of most financial institutions will be greatly affected.
How Will Financial Institutions Operate After Brexit?
In anticipation of Brexit most financial institutions have been organising their affairs so that their service provision out of the UK won’t be affected. The products ex-pats have in other countries such as Italy, Spain and France will still be available to them and will carry on interrupted. SO how can this be possible when the passporting arrangement will disappear?
Well the large financial institutions have led the way by opening up and investing in subsidiary companies which are based in other countries in the European Union. Barclays for example has Barclays Bank Ireland which will remain in the EU post Brexit. Products serviced in Europe have been moved into Barclays Bank Ireland within the last year or so, meaning customers won’t be affected by Brexit. Similarly, RBS has NatWest Markets NV based in the Netherlands for the same purpose.
Certainly, most large financial institutions already have all the ducks in a row ready for the dawn of Brexit. There may be some smaller providers who don’t have these arrangements, so if you have any doubts then touch base with your financial provider and check with them what will happen after Brexit. If they don’t have a convincing answer then it might be worthwhile switching providers before its too late.
For insurance products, there are very few cross border products, with insurers only wanting to provide cover in their own country where they have market knowledge, so its unlikely insurance will be affected. That having been said, its still worth checking with your provider, and if they’re unclear perhaps consider moving at the next renewal date.
Travel insurance is the same however it is expected travel insurance claims will increase dramatically for the weeks after Brexit due to cancellations, blockades, delays and border closures, so avoid travel then.
