Before publishing
- Scope. We define the question the guide answers, the country it covers and who it is for.
- Source gathering. Researchers start from primary sources: legislation and government websites, insurance regulators and ombudsman or complaints bodies, official statistics, and insurers' own policy documents. Regulators include, for example, the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK, ASIC in Australia, the Financial Markets Authority in New Zealand and provincial insurance regulators in Canada.
- Drafting. The draft states each rule or figure and records its source. If we cannot find a source, the claim does not go in.
- Fact-check. A second team member checks every claim, figure, link and definition against its source, and checks that the guide applies to the country it names.
- Specialist review. Guides on health, life and other sensitive insurance topics, and guides about legal requirements to hold cover, are reviewed by a suitably qualified reviewer before they go live.
- Plain-language edit. An editor checks that the guide is clear, complete and free of promotional language.
After publishing
- Dates. Each guide shows its publication date and its last-reviewed date.
- Regular review. We re-check guides at least once a year, and sooner when a rule, regulator or product changes.
- Corrections. Errors are fixed as soon as they are confirmed, and significant corrections are noted on the page. See our editorial policy.
What we cannot do
We are not a regulated adviser, and we cannot check your own policy or tell you what your insurer will accept. A guide explains how cover generally works. Your policy wording and your insurer decide what is covered. Read the disclaimer.