The Financial Services and Markets Act (the Act) received Royal Assent on 29 June 2023. Although certain key provisions (for example the rules relating to critical third parties) came into force on the same date, the Government is taking a phased approach and other provisions will be brought into force on days to be appointed … Continue Reading
On 21 April 2023, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a consultation paper (CP23/8) (CP) on proposed rule changes to address issues identified within the multi-occupancy building insurance market which are leading to poor outcomes for leaseholders. Background Over the past few years, the cost of building insurance to residential leaseholders and other property owners … Continue Reading
As 2022 came to a close, the regulators concluded the year with a busy month in December. Notably, ASIC ended the year by reminding stakeholders of the importance of ensuring that claims made in relation to a product were accurate, especially in the context of environmental claims, reflecting ASIC’s increased focus on greenwashing in 2022. … Continue Reading
Australia has a vibrant InsurTech ecosystem and similarities between the UK and Australian insurance markets, together with the promise of sunny weather, make the land down under a great option for InsurTechs looking to set up shop abroad. In this article, in collaboration with the UK Department for International Trade, we share some things to … Continue Reading
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has launched the 2022 Insurance Stress Test (IST). The IST is run every two years and seeks information from the largest life and general insurance companies in the UK. In a ‘Dear CEO’ letter sent to the participating firms, the PRA sets out its objectives for the IST and provides … Continue Reading
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has published a discussion paper on possible reforms to the risk margin and matching adjustment in Solvency II. The discussion paper also contains a technical annex ‘Solvency II Review: Matching Adjustment and reforms to the Fundamental Spread. Responses to the discussion paper should be submitted by 21 July 2022. View: … Continue Reading
The UK Government has launched its long-awaited consultation on proposed reforms to the Solvency II regime in the UK. Since leaving the European Union, the UK Government is now able to adapt its version of the Solvency II regime to more closely suit the UK insurance market. The UK Government believes that if certain changes … Continue Reading
Last year (see update ) the UK Government consulted upon a series of proposed amendments to insolvency arrangements for insurance companies. The proposed amendments included clarifications and enhancements to the court’s powers under section 377 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to order a reduction of the value of an insurer’s contracts (a … Continue Reading
Open Insurance is coming! On 24 January 2022, the Treasury released the Consumer Data Right (CDR) Strategic Assessment Outcomes Report (Outcomes Report). The Outcomes Report recommended expanding Australia’s CDR to Open Finance. The recommendation follows the launch of open banking in Australia in 2020, and a number of reports concerning the expansion of the CDR … Continue Reading
The House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee has launched an inquiry into commercial insurance and reinsurance regulation. The Committee will explore the extent to which regulatory policy is well-designed and proportionately applied and the possibilities for optimising policy following Brexit. Evidence should be submitted by 11 February 2022. The call for evidence requests answers … Continue Reading
FCA sends ‘Dear CEO’ letter to Lloyd’s and London Market firms highlighting six potential harms The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a ‘Dear CEO’ letter written by Charlotte Cross, Head of Department, Wholesale Insurance, to the Lloyd’s and London Market portfolio of firms. The portfolio letter sets out six areas of harm that Lloyd’s … Continue Reading
The High Court of Australia has denied special leave to appeal the decision of the New South Wales Supreme Court of Appeal in HDI Global Speciality SE v Wonkana No 3 Pty Ltd [2020] NSWCA 296, bringing to an end at least one element of confusion which has gripped policyholders and insurers since last year. … Continue Reading
The UK Government has launched a consultation on a series of proposed amendments to existing insolvency arrangements for insurance companies. The amendments include clarifications and enhancements to the court’s powers under section 377 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to order a reduction of the value of an insurer’s contracts (a ‘write-down’). The … Continue Reading
The New York Department of Financial Services recently reached a settlement with National Securities Corp. related to multiple cybersecurity violations.… Continue Reading
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has launched a consultation on value for money risk in the European unit-linked insurance market. EIOPA has previously expressed concern that while unit-linked products can offer important benefits for policyholders, costs for some products remain too high. The low interest rate environment, in addition to market shocks … Continue Reading
On Friday 22 January 2020, the FCA sent a ‘Dear CEO’ letter to insurance companies and managing general agents in order to clarify its expectations of firms in respect of business interruption claims following the decision of the Supreme Court on 15 January (see our case summary here). Executive Director of Consumers and Competition, Sheldon … Continue Reading
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 intermediaries (including Managing General Agents) that operate in the Lloyd’s and London Market. The FCA has recently started to group firms into separate portfolios. Lloyd’s and London Market intermediaries (LLMI) fall into one such group of FCA supervised firms. The FCA writes that … 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
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
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
