Insurance UK

  • October 21, 2024

    Insurance Premium Finance Costs Fall Under FCA Scrutiny

    Insurers have dropped the interest they charge customers for finance arrangements on their annual premiums over the past year amid greater regulatory scrutiny, analysts said Monday.

  • October 21, 2024

    Gov't Urged To Reform Pension Lifeboat Levy Rules

    The government should bring forward legislation to change how Britain's Pension Protection Fund sets its annual levy, a trade body warned Monday, after the lifeboat scheme announced a £100 million ($130 million) charge on the sector for the coming year.

  • October 18, 2024

    Gov't Warned Over Axing National Insurance Pension Relief

    Slashing the tax relief on pension contributions paid by employers could cost businesses nearly £500 ($653) per worker and reduce future retirement savings pots at a time of growing concern that Britons aren't saving enough for later life, Hymans Robertson said Friday.

  • October 18, 2024

    Insurance Deals Boom May Yield Admin Clog, Hymans Warns

    The pensions risk transfer market has seen 600 buy-in deals completed since 2022, amid a boom in such transactions that could create an administration bottleneck as they advance to fall directly under insurers, Hymans Robertson said Friday.

  • October 18, 2024

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen Professor Cat Jarman, Earl Spencer's new girlfriend, sue his ex-wife, Bitcoin fraudster Craig Wright file a £911 billion ($1.18 trillion) claim against BTC Core, journalist Oliver Kamm hit novelist Ros Barber with a defamation claim, and a barrister at Cloisters face a claim from a former client. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • October 18, 2024

    Trade Body Calls For FCA To Clarify UK Rules On PEPs

    A trade body for financial institutions called Friday for the Financial Conduct Authority to clarify in proposed amendments to guidance when firms should treat U.K. politically exposed persons and linked entities as lower risk.

  • October 18, 2024

    Gowling Steers Engineering Biz On £70M Aviva Pension Deal

    Gowling WLG has guided the trustee of the pension plan of Rotork, a U.K. manufacturer of industrial valves, on a £70 million ($91.3 million) buy-in transaction with Aviva, meaning the company's scheme is now fully insured.

  • October 18, 2024

    FCA's 'Pension Value' Rules Criticized for Over-Simplification

    The Financial Conduct Authority's proposed regime for assessing the value of pension plans through standardized measures risks overlooking the "unique characteristics" of retirement savings plans in Britian, a financial consultancy warned on Friday.

  • October 17, 2024

    Equip FCA And BoE For Green Transition Finance, Study Says

    The U.K.'s financial watchdogs need to be equipped to help with green transition financing, a government-sponsored study said Thursday.

  • October 17, 2024

    Insurer Launches UK's 1st Cybercrime Recovery Service

    Digital risk insurer Coalition has launched what it says is the U.K.'s first dedicated service for recovering cash stolen from cyberattacks — and has already recouped £1.4 million ($1.8 million) for a law firm.

  • October 17, 2024

    StanChart Libor Decision Splits Bank And Investor Interests

    The High Court's landmark decision allowing Standard Chartered to use an alternative to Libor has provided certainty to contracts that fail to provide for the abolition of the benchmark rate, but gives investors less flexibility than they might consider the wording provides.

  • October 17, 2024

    Pensions Watchdog To Extend Professional Trustee Oversight

    Britain's retirement savings watchdog has confirmed that it will extend its regulatory approach with professional trustee firms amid significant growth in the sector.

  • October 17, 2024

    FCA Launches AI Lab To Boost Fintech Innovation

    Britain's financial watchdog unveiled Thursday its new artificial intelligence lab, which aims to help firms develop and deploy AI solutions in the financial sector and better understand the technology's impact.

  • October 31, 2024

    Dentons Rehires Financial Reg Partner From Pinsent Masons

    Dentons has rehired Andrew Barber to join its regulatory and investigations team in the U.K. as financial regulatory partner, at a time of greater oversight from the Financial Conduct Authority.

  • October 17, 2024

    Aon Unit Buys Irish Insurance Advisory Firm IHI Group

    Global risk manager NFP said on Thursday it has bought IHI Group, a Dublin-based adviser for financial planning, healthcare and general insurance, as the Aon PLC subsidiary looks to bolster its health insurance brokerage service in Ireland.

  • October 16, 2024

    Companies House Outlines Phased Rollout Of New Powers

    Companies House announced Wednesday a two-year timetable for rolling out heightened powers granted under new economic crime legislation that it said will bring the biggest change to its register in over 175 years.

  • October 16, 2024

    Vanguard Group Nixes Investment Group's TM

    Vanguard Group convinced European officials to nix a trademark for "VanguardRe," after its Lebanese rival failed to provide any evidence that it had genuinely used the sign to market its insurance services in years.

  • October 16, 2024

    EU Watchdogs Warn Digital Act Changes Will Hinder Rollout

    The European Union's financial market regulators have said amendments proposed by the bloc's executive arm under the Digital Operational Resilience Act around registering information will cause "unnecessary complexity" and hinder the rollout of the legislation.

  • October 16, 2024

    Fresh Warnings Issued Over FCA Value-For-Money Rules

    The Financial Conduct Authority's proposed new assessment of pension schemes' value is so complex it risks failing savers, trade body the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association has warned.

  • October 16, 2024

    Gov't Launches Taskforce To Combat Spiraling Insurance Cost

    The government said Wednesday that it would take on the surging car insurance rates faced by drivers, with a cross-party group of politicians, experts and regulators looking to get to the bottom of the problem.

  • October 16, 2024

    FCA Launches Probe Into Premium Finance Insurance Market

    Britain's finance watchdog said Wednesday that it will investigate premium finance practices over concerns that consumers who pay for cover in installments might not be getting fair deals.

  • October 15, 2024

    Shipping Repair Co. Chases AXA For £950K In Fire Damages

    A ship repair and maintenance company has hit AXA's U.K. business with a court claim, alleging the insurer failed to pay out over £950,000 ($1.24 million) for the company's losses from a fire at its head office.

  • October 15, 2024

    AXA Argues For Group Extension In Foreign Unit Tax Fight

    AXA told the Court of Appeal on Tuesday that a limitation ruling in a test case against HMRC over taxes collected under a violation of European Union law had a "binding effect" on follower claims in a group litigation order.

  • October 15, 2024

    Sustainability Assurance Market Lacks Choice, FRC Says

    Market players are concerned that the U.K. sustainability assurance market could become dominated by the Big Four accounting giants, limiting choice and effective competition, the industry's regulator said Tuesday.

  • October 15, 2024

    Trustees Urged To Do More Than Minimum On ESG

    Trustees of retirement saving schemes should do more than just what's required to comply with ESG duties, The Pensions Regulator's climate change lead said.

Expert Analysis

  • A Recovery Option For Lenders With Planes Stuck In Russia

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    For aircraft lessors considering insurance coverage litigation to recover for losses of equipment leased to Russian airlines, negotiating an assignment of rights may provide a faster pathway to recovery, say David Klein and Jose Lua-Valencia at Pillsbury.

  • Series

    My Favorite Law Prof: How I Learned To Argue Open-Mindedly

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    Queens College President Frank Wu reflects on how Yale Kamisar’s teaching and guidance at the University of Michigan Law School emphasized a capacity to engage with alternative worldviews and the importance of the ability to argue for both sides of a debate.

  • 4 Key Skills For An Effective Attorney Coaching Conversation

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    As BigLaw firms are increasingly offering internal coaching as one of many talent strategies to stem ongoing lawyer attrition, Stacey Schwartz at Katten discusses how coaches can help attorneys achieve their goals.

  • New Clarity On Directors' Creditor Duty In Insolvency Context

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    The recent case of BTI 2014 v. Sequana, the first to consider the creditor duty at U.K. Supreme Court level, provides directors and insolvency practitioners with significant guidance on how close to insolvency the company needs to be for the creditor duty to be engaged, say attorneys at Shearman.

  • FCA Pension Scheme Case Highlights Issues Ripe For Reform

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    The Financial Conduct Authority's response to the British Steel Pension Scheme case exposed wider issues within its regulatory approach and could demonstrate the need for industrywide reforms to minimize the risks with transferring out of a pension scheme, say Oliver Reece and Larisa Gordan at PwC.

  • What An Organization Can Do To Protect Its Supply Chains

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    In light of recent world events, supply chain issues have never been more critical for business, and to protect the commercial viability of their contracts, organizations should address performance concerns in good time, with a workable strategy in place should the chain break down, says Laura Heeley at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • German Draft Bill Reflects Trend Toward New Antitrust Tools

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    A recently proposed amendment to the German Act against Restraints on Competition continues the trend in Europe to equip authorities with greater powers, shifting from a more traditional approach to a more extensive market protection tool, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • How Counsel Can Effectively Lead Data Breach Investigations

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    More businesses are expecting in-house counsel to lead cybersecurity incident responses, so lawyers should work on asking external responders the right questions, managing ransom negotiations to gain time and information, and communicating with regulators to avert or limit penalties, say Oliver Price and Kevin Hughes at FTI Consulting.

  • What EU Oil Spill Insurance Ruling Means For UK Arbitration

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    A recent European Court of Justice opinion in an insurance dispute related to the 2002 sinking of oil tanker MV Prestige provides clarity on the priority of cross-border judgments and arbitral awards, and indicates that EU member state civil judgments will be given precedence over U.K. arbitral awards — with exceptions, says David Vaughan at Collyer Bristow.

  • UK Claim Limitation Ruling Is A Tentative Win For Insurers

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    A U.K. county court's recent decision in Rashid v. Direct Savings reduces the limitation period for third parties to make direct claims against insurers, potentially providing insurers with a defense that was not previously apparent, if the decision is upheld on appeal, says Robert Morris at RPC.

  • Why Risk-Based Employee Conduct Policies Are Advisable

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    In establishing employee conduct policies, companies should consider the extent to which they are exposed to certain types of risk, such as bribery and corruption, as establishing clear written standards offers a step toward avoiding criminal liability, says Steve Melrose at Bellevue Law.

  • A Trusted Cybersecurity Framework Is Imperative For Lawyers

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    The recent increased risk of cyberattacks has a number of profound implications for law firms, and complying with government guidance by embedding a cyber-savvy culture and adhering to a security framework will enable lawyers to add extra layers of defense and present their clients with higher levels of protection, says Marion Stewart at Red Helix.

  • The New EU Data Act Proposal Raises Several Questions

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    In its aim to improve users' rights to access industrial data, the proposed Data Act demonstrates the European Commission’s awareness of the competitive advantage this can bring, but there are concerns as to how it would work in practice, and it appears unlikely that the U.K. will follow a similar framework, say Nick Phillips and Selina Clifford at Edwin Coe.

  • Preparing For FCA's New Appointed Representative Rules

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    The Financial Conduct Authority's new rules make authorized financial firms acting as principal more responsible for their appointed representatives and take effect in less than three months, so firms must understand the changes and undertake a gap analysis of current policies against the requirements as soon as possible, say attorneys at Herbert Smith.

  • Opinion

    A Better Gov't Response To Pensions Misselling Is Needed

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    To finally clamp down on the pensions misselling we have seen emerge of late, such as the recent scandal involving a Qualifying Recognized Overseas Pension Scheme, a robust regulatory regime is needed to put an end to inadequate enforcement and unwise legislative innovation in U.K. pensions law, says Ben Rees at Keller Postman.

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