The Retail Mediation Activities Return (RMAR) should include a statement of any changes made to a firm's Professional Indemnity (PI) policy, it has been advised.

In its guidance for the completion of the RMAR, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) warns that any modifications to an existing PI policy must be included in the report.

A question included within the document asks firms to assert whether or not their policy has been renewed since the last report.

However, it adds that if a policy has not been renewed since the last time the RMAR was returned and there have been no other alterations, there is no need to complete a detailed description of the terms and conditions of the cover.

"This question will ensure that a firm does not fill in part two of the PI insurance section of the RMAR each time it reports, if the information only changes annually," the FSA explains.

The question of whether a policy has been renewed was previously incorporated into a more general query of whether suitable PI coverage was held by firms which were not exempt from the requirement to obtain the insurance.

But in February 2007 the document was reworded to place greater emphasis on the fact that the second part need only be completed if PI cover had been renewed.

Firms are generally required to complete an RMAR every six months, with larger companies expected to report quarterly.