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How a UK Retailer Added Insurance at Checkout Without FCA Authorisation
The most common reason a UK retailer hasn’t added insurance to their checkout isn’t reluctance. It’s the assumption that the regulatory path is too complex to be worth exploring. SGS Engineering tested that assumption. In two weeks from contract signature, they were live — with a branded insurance product embedded in their trade checkout, generating revenue from every qualifying tool purchase.
This is the embedded insurance ecommerce case study behind SGS Protect: what the challenge was, how the deployment worked, and what it returned.
What is embedded insurance at checkout?
Embedded insurance at checkout is a product protection offer presented within the purchase journey — on the product page, in the basket, or at the checkout step — rather than through a separate insurance channel. The customer sees the offer at the moment of maximum relevance: when they are already committing to a purchase.
For a retailer like SGS Engineering, the commercial logic is clear. A tradesperson buying a £600 power tool has a direct interest in protecting that investment against theft or accidental damage. Placing that offer at checkout — rather than redirecting customers to a separate insurer website — captures the decision at the right moment.
Customers who are redirected rarely return. The challenge has historically been infrastructure: who builds the product, holds the regulatory permissions, manages the insurer relationship, and handles claims when something goes wrong. For most retailers, that list of requirements made embedded insurance look like a project too large to start.
The Quotall infrastructure, delivered through embedded insurance for retailers, removes every one of those requirements from the retailer’s side of the ledger
Can retailers offer insurance without FCA authorisation?
Yes — in specific circumstances, and with the right infrastructure in place. The Connected Contract Exemption (Article 72B of the Regulated Activities Order 2001) allows retailers to distribute certain complementary insurance products without holding FCA authorisation as an insurance intermediary. The exemption applies where the insurance is non-life, closely connected to the goods being sold, priced within the qualifying annual premium threshold, and the retailer’s main business is not insurance distribution.
For a trade tool retailer offering theft and damage cover for the tools they sell, these conditions are typically met. SGS Engineering’s deployment qualifies on all counts. What the CCE does not exempt is the financial promotion. Any customer-facing communication about the insurance offer — the checkout copy, the product page description — must still comply with FCA financial promotions rules under FSMA s21 and ICOBS 2.2. This is a commonly misunderstood distinction: the CCE removes the requirement for FCA intermediary authorisation, not the obligation to communicate accurately and fairly about the product. Read more about Connected Contract Exemption on our site.
Quotall (IS) Limited, Appointed Representative of Movo Partnership (FCA #823503), provides the regulated infrastructure and ensures all customer-facing content meets FCA financial promotions requirements. SGS Engineering operates as a CCE distributor without holding its own insurance distribution permissions. The compliance architecture sits with Quotall.
“This pioneering embedded insurance offering reflects SGS Engineering’s commitment to providing not only the best tools, but also the best customer experience. By offering protection at the point of purchase, SGS Engineering is empowering trades professionals to focus on their work with the confidence that their essential equipment is covered.”
Neil Samson – CEO, SGS Engineering
What did the SGS Engineering deployment involve?
SGS Engineering launched SGS Protect — a branded insurance product built on the embedded insurance platform provided by Embri, operating on Quotall’s regulated infrastructure. SGS Protect offers theft and damage cover for professional tools purchased at the SGS Engineering online checkout. The offer appears as an optional add-on within the checkout flow, at the point of purchase. Insurance is clearly identified as optional; the insurer is identified in the purchase journey; policy information documents are available before the customer makes a decision.
These are not incidental features — they reflect the FCA’s expectations for embedded checkout insurance under both the CCE and Consumer Duty requirements. The technical integration uses Quotall’s single-API architecture. The API handles the quote, the purchase, and the policy issuance within the checkout interaction. SGS Engineering’s development team integrated the API and applied the SGS Protect branding to the customer-facing checkout experience.
Quotall’s managed service covered the insurer relationship, product design, policy configuration, actuarial pricing, and claims handling infrastructure. SGS Engineering did not build or own any insurance capability internally. They built a branded retail product on top of infrastructure that was already in place.
How long did it take to go live?
SGS Protect was live within 2 weeks of contract signature. This timeline is materially shorter than projects involving direct insurer relationships, bespoke regulatory applications, or proprietary checkout insurance infrastructure. The reason is structural: Quotall’s infrastructure absorbs the elements that extend timelines in every other model — insurer accreditation, regulatory compliance setup, policy administration configuration, and claims handling.
None of those workstreams sat with SGS Engineering.
The SGS Engineering team’s primary workload was the API integration and the checkout branding. Both were completed within the deployment window. The insurer relationship, the product terms, the pricing, and the compliance architecture were in place before a single line of integration code was written. Speed to market has direct commercial value. A retailer achieving up to 20% insurance attachment from go-live generates revenue from the first day. The opportunity cost of delayed deployment is real and quantifiable using the embedded insurance revenue calculator.
What attach rate did SGS Protect achieve?
SGS Protect achieved attach rates between 10-20% depending on the category of goods — meaning where customers completing a qualifying tool purchase at the SGS Engineering checkout chose to add insurance at the point of sale. Attach rates in embedded insurance vary by product category, price point, checkout presentation, and the profile of the end customer.
Trade tools sold to professional buyers represent a strong-performing category: the items are high value, the customers are commercially minded, and the case for protecting a working tool against theft or damage is self-evident. These are not discretionary purchases — they are working capital for the tradespeople who buy them.
How can your business offer embedded insurance at checkout?
If your business sells physical goods online — tools, electronics, high-value equipment, or any product where customers have a clear interest in protection — embedded insurance at checkout may be available to you without FCA authorisation. The route depends on your product category, your transaction volumes, and your checkout architecture. The starting point is a commercial assessment: what would embedded insurance add to your revenue, at a realistic attach rate, across your current transaction base?
Quotall’s team can determine whether your business qualifies under the Connected Contract Exemption and, where it does, provide the full infrastructure to go live — insurer relationship, product design, API integration, and ongoing managed service. The SGS Engineering deployment demonstrates what that looks like in practice: a branded checkout product, live in weeks, generating revenue from every qualifying sale. See how much revenue embedded insurance could add to your checkout →
Frequently Asked Question
The Connected Contract Exemption (Article 72B of the Regulated Activities Order 2001) is a regulatory provision that allows UK retailers to distribute complementary non-life insurance products at point of sale without holding FCA authorisation as an insurance intermediary. It applies where the insurance is closely connected to the goods being sold, the annual premium is within the qualifying threshold, and the retailer’s main business is not insurance distribution. The CCE exempts the distribution activity — not the financial promotion, which must still comply with FCA rules.
Attach rates vary significantly by product category, price point, and checkout presentation. The SGS Engineering deployment achieved an attach rate of between 10-20% depending on the category. Trade tools and high-value equipment categories typically perform well because the financial case for protection is clear to professional buyers purchasing working capital items.
Quotall (IS) Limited, as Appointed Representative of Movo Partnership (FCA #823503), provides the regulated infrastructure and holds responsibility for FCA compliance obligations. Claims handling is managed through Quotall’s managed service. The retailer operating under the Connected Contract Exemption does not need to manage insurer relationships, policy administration, or claims processing internally.
Deployment timelines vary, but with a managed infrastructure provider like Quotall, go-live is typically measured in weeks rather than months. The SGS Engineering deployment was live within 2 weeks of contract signature. The primary workstream for the retailer is the API integration and checkout branding — Quotall’s managed service handles insurer relationships, product configuration, compliance, and claims infrastructure.
Yes, in qualifying circumstances. The Connected Contract Exemption (Article 72B RAO) allows retailers to distribute complementary insurance products without FCA authorisation as an insurance intermediary, provided the insurance is non-life, closely connected to the goods being sold, within the qualifying premium threshold, and the retailer’s main business is not insurance. Financial promotions rules still apply in full to any customer-facing insurance communications.
An embedded insurance ecommerce case study documents a real retailer’s experience of adding insurance to their online checkout — covering the commercial case, regulatory route, technical deployment, and results. The SGS Engineering case study describes how a UK trade retailer launched branded tool insurance at checkout without FCA authorisation, using Quotall’s regulated infrastructure under the Connected Contract Exemption.
