Earlier this month, the PCA wrote to all pub owning companies asking them to verify compliance with regulation 46 of the Pubs Code, particularly the requirements of the price match right.
It asked all companies to consider whether changes should be made to their insurance communications with tied tenants to improve awareness of their rights, and to ensure the price match right under the Pubs Code is clearly explained.
Under regulation 46 of the Pubs Code, pub companies must provide tied tenants with information about premises insurance where it intends to charge the tenant in respect of the premium to ensure full transparency and allow the tenant to look for a cheaper policy.
Suitable and comparable
If the tied tenant finds one that is suitable and comparable in coverage, the company must buy that policy or agree the tenant will not have to pay the difference.
The PCA’s 2024 Annual Tied Tenant Survey showed just 56% of tenants were aware of their right to price match the amount they pay their pub company for premises insurance on the open market.
The PCA asserted it was clear pub companies should not be considering whether a tenant’s alternative policy is the same or better than the pub company’s existing policy, or ‘like for like’, adding the statutory test is ‘suitable and comparable’.
In March 2024, the PCA concluded its review of Star’s reported breaches of regulation 46(2) of the Pubs Code.
The supervised inquiry related to information provided by Star to tenants regarding premises insurance, for which they were charged.
Clear explanations
As a result of the review, Star worked with the PCA to revise its correspondence to tied tenants to clearly explain its insurance arrangements and the method used to calculate the premium for each premises.
Following this, the PCA wrote to all pub owning companies to draw attention to Star’s actions and to urge other operators to ensure they comply with the information requirements in regulation 46(2) of the code, including where they had self-insurance arrangements.
Since then, the PCA has been considering how pub companies comply with their tenants’ price match right in the Pubs Code.
The PCA said it welcomed information from stakeholders, including tied tenants, regarding pub company compliance with the insurance price match right.
