Who we are, and how we are paid

This page sets out who we are, what we are allowed to advise on, how we are paid, and what protections you have if something goes wrong. It is the plain-English version of our regulatory position. Your adviser will also give you this information in writing, personally, before you receive any advice.

Who we are

What "appointed representative" means for you

ProActivLife is an appointed representative. That means we carry out regulated business under the authorisation of another firm — our principal firm, Financial Expert Partnership Ltd — rather than holding our own direct FCA authorisation.

This is a normal and long-established arrangement in UK financial services, and it matters to you in three practical ways:

• You get the same regulatory protection. The FCA's rules apply to the advice you receive in exactly the same way as they would if we were directly authorised.
• Our principal firm is responsible for our regulated activity. They supervise our advice, review our client files, and are accountable to the FCA for what we do.
• Complaints are handled under our principal firm's procedure. You can raise a complaint with us and we will pass it on, or you can go to them directly. Either route gives you the same rights, including the right to take an unresolved complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. See our Complaints page.

What we can advise on

We advise on two things, and we are deliberately specialist rather than general:

Mortgages

Advising on and arranging regulated mortgage contracts — including first-time purchases, moving home, remortgaging, and buy-to-let.

Your adviser will confirm, in writing and before you receive advice, which lenders we can advise on.

Protection insurance

Advising on and arranging life cover, income protection, serious illness and critical illness cover, and related personal and business protection.

Your adviser will confirm, in writing and before you receive advice, which insurers we can advise on.

What we do not do

We think it is as important to be clear about what we are not, so you know when to seek help elsewhere. We do not advise on:

• Investments, pensions, or pension transfers
• Savings products, ISAs or deposit accounts
• Tax planning, or the tax treatment of your affairs beyond general information — you should take advice from a qualified tax adviser
• Equity release or lifetime mortgages
• Debt advice or debt management — if you are struggling with debt, free, impartial help is available from MoneyHelper, a service provided by the Money and Pensions Service

Services that are not FCA-regulated

Some of what we can help you arrange sits outside FCA regulation. We say so clearly wherever we mention it, and we repeat it here:

• Will writing, trusts and estate planning are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We introduce clients to a specialist will-writing provider and, where appropriate, to solicitors. The FCA's rules, and the Financial Ombudsman Service, do not cover those services.
• Most buy-to-let mortgages are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Some are — a "consumer buy-to-let" is regulated. Your adviser will tell you which category yours falls into and what that means for your protections.

How we are paid

You are entitled to know exactly how a financial firm makes its money before you take its advice, because that is what lets you judge whether the advice is in your interest. Here is ours, in full.

Mortgage advice

We charge a fee for mortgage advice. Your adviser will tell you the exact amount in writing, before you commit to anything and before you pay us anything. We may also receive a commission from the lender.

Two things we commit to on fees:

• You will always be told the fee in writing, before you apply, and you will be told whether any part of it is refundable.
• Where we receive a commission from a lender as well as a fee, we will tell you the amount of that commission before you complete.

Protection advice

We do not normally charge you a fee for protection advice. We are paid a commission by the insurer when a policy starts. The commission does not increase what you pay — the premium is the same whether you come to us or go to the insurer directly.

You should know that commission is usually paid as a proportion of the premium, which means a larger policy pays us more. We manage that conflict in two ways: recommendations must be evidenced against a documented needs analysis before they can be made, and our client files are reviewed by our principal firm. If you ever feel a recommendation was larger than your needs justified, say so — that is exactly the kind of complaint we want to hear.

Introductions to third parties

Where we introduce you to a will-writing provider, a solicitor, or another professional, your adviser will tell you at the time whether we receive any payment for the introduction, and how much. If we do receive a payment, you will be told before you engage them, not afterwards.

Your protections

If you are unhappy with our service

You can complain, free of charge, and if we cannot resolve it you can take it to an independent ombudsman who can make a binding award against us. The full process, including timescales and contact details, is on our Complaints page.

If we could not meet a claim against us

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). If we were to go out of business and you had a valid claim against us for bad advice, the FSCS may be able to compensate you. The limits depend on what the advice was about:

Limits shown were checked against the FSCS website on 8 September 2026. Compensation limits are set by the regulators and do change — the current position is always at fscs.org.uk/what-we-cover.

Professional indemnity insurance

We hold professional indemnity insurance, as our principal firm requires and as the FCA expects. Details of the cover are available on request.

If you need extra support

Some people need more time, more explanation, or a different way of communicating in order to make a good decision. That might be because of a health condition, a bereavement, a language barrier, a disability, low confidence with money, or simply a very stressful moment in life. It is common, it is not a weakness, and it changes nothing about your entitlement to good advice.

If any of that applies to you, tell your adviser — or tell us on 01270 747 989. We can:

• Slow the process down, and take more than one meeting to reach a decision
• Provide information in large print, or send it in advance so you can read it in your own time
• Put you with an adviser who speaks your first language — our advisers between them speak seven languages
• Include a family member, friend or carer in the conversation, with your permission
• Confirm anything in writing that you would rather not have to remember

We record the support you have asked for so you do not have to explain yourself again every time you contact us. You can ask us to stop recording it at any time. More on how we handle that information is in our Privacy Policy.

Financial promotions

Everything on this website that promotes our services is a financial promotion under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, and has been approved by our principal firm before publication. We are required to make sure it is fair, clear and not misleading — and we would want to anyway.

If you believe anything on this site is unclear, unbalanced, or overstates what we can do, we would like to know. Email info@proactivlife.co.uk with the page and what troubled you. We treat that as a complaint about a promotion and we will respond to it.