On 4 January 2021, the French regulator (the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution – ACPR) issued a press release reminding UK authorised financial institutions (including those located in Gibraltar) of their obligations towards customers residing in France. As of 1 January 2021, European law is no longer applicable in the United Kingdom (UK). … Continue Reading
As mentioned in our previous post published in April 2019, the French Ministry of Economy and Finance passed a decree dated 22 March 2019 (the March 2019 Decree) implementing the provisions of the ordinance n°2019-75 of 6 February 2019, introducing a contingency plan for the financial services sector in connection with the withdrawal of the … Continue Reading
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has sent a ‘Dear CEO’ letter to Price Comparison Websites. The letter identifies the key risks of harm which it believes Price Comparison Websites (PCWs) pose to their customers and the markets in which they operate. PCWs are expected to review the harms identified and take steps to reduce the … Continue Reading
The two UK financial regulators, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have sent a letter to the chief executives and branch managers of insurance firms in the UK. The letter reminds firms about the end of the transition period in December and the need to be ready for a range … Continue Reading
In June 2020, the UK Government announced that it would review some of the features of Solvency II to ensure that the regime better reflects the UK insurance sector. The present regime, as implemented into UK law, has been designed to cover the entire EU insurance market but has not been adjusted to take into … Continue Reading
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has published ‘EIOPA’s approach to the supervision of product oversight and governance’. The Insurance Distribution Directive ((EU) 2016/97) (IDD) contains requirements on product oversight and governance for insurance distributors. These requirements aim to ensure that customers’ interests are taken into account throughout the product lifecycle. The latest … Continue Reading
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has sent a ‘Dear CEO’ letter from Christopher Woolard, interim chief executive officer, to general insurance intermediaries. The letter states that during the COVID-19 pandemic it is imperative that intermediary firms maintain adequate arrangements to safeguard client money. The FCA expects senior management to have appropriate oversight over client money … Continue Reading
In its latest regulatory round-up, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has reminded insurers offering professional indemnity insurance of its Handbook requirements. Insurance firms applying pandemic exclusions are reminded of the minimum requirements in MIPRU 3.2 and should consider whether exclusions are consistent with product governance obligations to ensure that the policy is compatible with the … Continue Reading
A ‘Dear CEO’ letter written by Christopher Woolard, interim chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has been sent to firms writing business interruption insurance cover following the judgment handed down in The Financial Conduct Authority v Arch and Others (Test Cast). Mr Woolard thanks the firms who participated in the Test Case for … Continue Reading
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published the final report in its study of general insurance pricing practices (MS18/1). The final report follows a two year study into pricing in the general insurance sector in the UK. An interim report was published in October 2019 setting out interim findings. Alongside the final report the FCA … Continue Reading
In a move likely to be welcomed by the general insurance industry, ASIC has proposed to maintain the relief provided for distributors of general insurance products. A few short years after the introduction of the new financial services regime in Chapter 7 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), ASIC began to appreciate the special nature … Continue Reading
A spate of natural disasters in recent years has revealed a concerning level of underinsurance in the home and contents insurance market, according to reports released by ASIC in late 2014. ASIC has called on insurance providers ‘to implement measures that will meaningfully improve consumers’ understanding of their policy, and help ensure consumers buy a … Continue Reading
