Insurance UK

One-pound and two-pound coins on a wooden table interspersed with a tape showing consecutive years.

Gov't Misses Chance To Go Big With New Pensions Body

The government launched a once-in-a-generation review of retirement savings on Monday, but experts warned that the new Pension Commission is a missed opportunity to take a no-holds-barred approach to tackle the savings crisis.

Criminal Background Check Application Form

Senior Managers Regime Revamp Risks Letting In Bad Apples

The City watchdog's planned overhaul of its senior managers regime risks allowing people with records of misconduct to slip into financial firms because of the relaxation of rules on references and criminal checks, according to lawyers.

Gov't Reforms Needed To Unlock FCA's Targeted Support Plan

The financial watchdog's planned "targeted support" program for consumers requires government legislation or guidance to remove legal obstacles to direct marketing — and regulatory experts expect the first step to come at the Mansion House address by Chancellor Rachel Reeves late on Tuesday.

Staley Tribunal Decision Could Fuel Challenges To FCA Fines

A landmark tribunal ruling that upheld the Financial Conduct Authority's ban of ex-Barclays CEO James "Jes" Staley from banking — but slashed his fine — could ultimately lead other executives with back-loaded pay packages to fight the watchdog's decisions, lawyers say.

July 24, 2025
Munich Re Can't Nix Private Equity Firm's $491M IPO Claim

Munich Re Group failed Thursday to get a private equity firm's claim of approximately $491 million struck out, after a court found that it couldn't rule out the possibility that the German reinsurer had breached an agreement over the public listing of a U.S. company.
July 24, 2025
Audit Watchdog Imposed £14.5M In Fines Last Year

Britain's audit watchdog said Thursday it levied £14.5 million ($19.6 million) in fines across a 12-month-period ending in March that also saw it wrap the majority of its investigations in a more timely way than ever before.
July 24, 2025
Ireland Revamps Sweeping Insurance Reform Plan

Ireland said Thursday that it would seek to further reform how personal injury claims are handled, as it unveiled an action plan to tackle the spiraling cost of insurance.
July 24, 2025
CMS, Sackers Guide £40M Pension Deal For Engineering Body

Pension Insurance Corp. said Thursday that it has completed a £40 million ($54 million) buy-in transaction to acquire the pensions of 200 members of the Mechanical Engineers Pension Scheme in a deal guided by CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP and Sackers.
July 24, 2025
BoE Speeds Up Insurance Vehicle Approvals To Boost Growth

The Bank of England put into force Thursday rules speeding up authorizations for a type of insurer known as special purpose vehicles, slashing related compulsory senior manager applications with immediate effect to boost U.K. growth.
July 24, 2025
SFO Charges 6 With Fraud Over £75M Pension Investments

The Serious Fraud Office charged six individuals with fraud and money laundering on Thursday over alleged misrepresentations made to investors who poured £75 million ($101 million) from their pensions into self-storage units.
July 24, 2025
Lloyd's Grants Provisional Approval For South African Insurer

Specialist insurance market Lloyd's of London has granted "in principle" the go-ahead for Santam to launch a syndicate in London, a move the South African company said will fast-track its international growth.
July 24, 2025
Chesnara Raises £140M To Fund HSBC Life Buy

British pensions company Chesnara PLC said Thursday that it has raised approximately £140 million ($190 million) to partly fund the £260 million acquisition of the specialist life protection and investment bond provider of banking giant HSBC.
July 24, 2025
Pinsent Masons Guides £11M DAC Beachcroft Pension Deal

DAC Beachcroft LLP's pension plan has agreed to an £11 million ($14.9 million) full scheme buy-in with insurance giant Aviva PLC, consultancy Broadstone said Thursday.
July 24, 2025
Gov't Warned Over Risks From Captive Insurance Reform

A light-touch capital regime for U.K. businesses that want to insure themselves could pose new systemic risks to the economy, a credit ratings agency has warned.
July 24, 2025
Brown & Brown To Buy UK Racehorse Insurance Broker

The European subsidiary of insurance broker Brown & Brown Inc. has agreed to acquire Weatherbys Hamilton LLP, a specialist U.K. broker that offers cover for farms, estates and racehorses.
July 23, 2025
MPs Call For Gov't Strategy To Fix 'Pensioner Poverty'

A committee of lawmakers called on the government on Thursday to make it easier for people in retirement to claim benefits as the number of older citizens slipping into poverty continues to climb.
July 23, 2025
Fund Managers Ask EU Watchdog To Simplify Investing Rules

A trade body for European fund managers has urged the EU's financial markets regulator to streamline the "complex and time‑consuming" retail investment process, eliminating burdens that prevent savers from making better investments.
July 23, 2025
Insurance Actuaries Told To Review Modeling Assumptions

Insurance actuaries should review their modeling assumptions to factor in falling prices, among a range of changing market conditions Lane Clark & Peacock LLP flagged as significant going into 2026.
July 23, 2025
Insurer CPP Group To Sell India Biz For Up To $21M

U.K. insurance products provider CPP Group PLC said Wednesday it has agreed to sell its Indian unit to two local buyers for up to $21 million to exit the "increasingly constrained" business and focus on its new technology platform.
July 23, 2025
FCA Criticizes Firms For Slow Fixes To Reporting Failures

The Financial Conduct Authority warned regulated companies on Wednesday that it has found deficiencies in transaction reporting, with some taking too long to address compliance failings.
July 23, 2025
Aviva Study Identifies Gender Gap In UK Pension Engagement

Insurance giant Aviva said Wednesday that men are more likely than women to see themselves as the pension planner in their household.
July 22, 2025
Racecourses Lose Early Fight In £80M COVID Cover Battle

A racecourse business shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic on Tuesday lost its case that £2.5 million ($3.4 million) insurance limits applied to every canceled race, with a London court ruling that each event was not a separate point of loss.
July 22, 2025
JMW Guides £4M Pension Deal For Church Scheme

Pension insurer Just Group has taken on £4 million ($5.4 million) worth of retirement savings liabilities from a scheme linked to a Christian church, in a deal put together by pensions consultancy K3 Advisory and guided by law firm JMW Solicitors.
July 22, 2025
BoE Chief Vows To Speak Up If Deregulation Goes Too Far

Andrew Bailey told a cross-party group of lawmakers Tuesday that he would speak out if the Treasury tries too hard to deregulate the financial services industry, adding that bank ring-fencing must remain in place.
July 22, 2025
Atradius Syndicate Gets 'In Principle' OK For Lloyd's Launch

Specialist insurance market Lloyd's of London has "in principle" given the green light for the operation of the Atradius Syndicate 1864, a new underwriting platform of the credit insurer.
July 22, 2025
DWF Beats Data Privacy Challenge In Injury Fraud Evidence

A London court tossed claims Tuesday that DWF Law LLP broke data protection laws when it analyzed and shared health information from three former personal injury claimants in a bid to expose alleged fraud patterns in road traffic accident cases.
July 22, 2025
FCA Warns Insurers On Poor Claims Handling

The City watchdog on Tuesday warned U.K. insurers over delays in paying claims and high rejection rates, as consumer groups called for enforcement action.
July 22, 2025
Insurers Push For Clear Liability Rules On Autonomous Flight

Britain's politicians must redraw the legal framework for liability over new autonomous aviation technology, a trade group for underwriters said on Tuesday, adding that a "clear and enforceable" regulatory regime will help insurers support the emerging sector.
July 22, 2025
Gov't Sets Out Plan To Include Pensions In Inheritance Tax

The government has confirmed that it is pushing ahead with plans to apply inheritance tax to wealth transferred through pensions in a move that experts say marks a "seismic" change for the sector.

Editor's Picks

Top Court Ruling In 'Whiplash' Test Case Could Hit Premiums

Personal injury claimants could get higher payouts from their motor insurance as a result of a test case ruling at Britain's highest court on Tuesday, although analysts warn that insurers could respond with higher premiums to cover the cost of bigger claims.
FCA Begins Crackdown On Poor-Value Insurance Products

The move by the Financial Conduct Authority to restrict sales of guaranteed asset protection insurance is a sign of a faster approach to market intervention, and could lead the regulator to scrutinize other underperforming products, consultants say.
Post-Election UK Pension Changes Could Be In The Fine Print

Regulatory lawyers are not expecting radical overhaul in pension policies if the government changes after this year's general election. But lawyers say that signals in the opposition Labour Party's policy language could hint at possible shifts in investment priorities for retirement savings.

Expert Analysis

What To Expect As FCA Preps To Launch AI Testing Service

The Financial Conduct Authority’s forthcoming artificial intelligence live testing service will provide participants with access to appropriate regulatory expertise, but to gauge the tool’s potential utility, it is important to understand how it fits in with what the regulator is already doing, says Omar Salem at Fox Williams.
EU Banking Watchdog Regulations Herald New AML Era

The European Banking Authority’s forthcoming anti-money laundering package will set a framework for compliance across the European Union by redefining the rules of engagement between financial institutions and supervisors, setting a new standard for transparency and accountability, say lawyers at A&O Shearman.
What To Expect As UK, US Gov'ts Develop Stablecoin Policies

While the U.K. and U.S. governments’ policies both suggest that fiat-backed stablecoins can improve efficiency and safety in payments systems, a perception that crypto-assets remain high risk means consumers are unlikely to use them in significant volume anytime soon, say lawyers at Cadwalader.
What Insurers Can Do To Prepare For PRA 'Solvent Exit' Rules

With less than a year until the Prudential Regulation Authority's new solvent exit rules for insurers come into force, it is critical that firms prepare to meet the imminent deadline by outlining an execution plan and establishing clear governance arrangements, say lawyers at Holman Fenwick.
How Regulators Want Online Platforms To Fight Finance Fraud

Recent statements from the International Organization of Securities Commissions and the European Securities and Markets Authority make clear that online platform providers are expected to adopt proactive measures to prevent the promotion of unauthorized financial services and related misconduct, say lawyers at Taylor Wessing.
FCA Notes Industry Criticism But Keeps Transparency Focus

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recently updated enforcement guide finally gives up the "naming and shaming" public interest test, demonstrating that the regulator has recognized the industry's serious concerns while maintaining less contentious aspects of its proposals to improve transparency in investigations, say lawyers at Irwin Mitchell.
Court Backing Of FCA Pensions Ruling Sends Key Message

The Upper Tribunal’s recent upholding of the Financial Conduct Authority's decisions against CFP Management directors serves as a judicial endorsement of the regulator’s approach to defined benefit transfers, underscoring that where the advisory model is fundamentally flawed, the consequences for those in control can be severe, say lawyers at RPC.
Pension Schemes Bill's Most Notable, Controversial Measures

The long-awaited Pension Schemes Bill recently introduced to Parliament creates a framework for harnessing money saved in U.K. workplace pension funds to grow the country’s economy, but provisions relating to local government pension scheme investment, and scale and asset allocation, are controversial, says Claire Dimmock at Squire Patton.
Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Prestige's Jurisprudential Legacy

The U.K. Supreme Court's recent denial of appeal ended Spain's decades-long quest to enforce an €855 million arbitral judgment against a London insurer, throwing into stark relief the increasingly complex relationship between arbitral sovereignty, foreign state immunity and the shifting terrain of post-Brexit private international law, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.
UK Securities Tax Reform Will Be Welcomed By Investors

The proposed reforms resulting from HM Revenue & Customs' recent consultation on modernizing stamp taxes on shares, suggesting a single digital tax on securities to replace stamp duty and stamp duty reserve tax, are expected to reduce complexity for investors transacting in U.K. securities, say lawyers at Ropes & Gray.
A Shifting Landscape Of Greater Scrutiny After Data Breaches

Recent Information Commissioner's Office fines for personal data breaches and a Home Office consultation signal a shift in the U.K. regulatory landscape, and with an increase in mass actions and resulting exposure, organizations should prepare for potential third-party claims from those incurring consequential losses, say lawyers at Atheria.
What To Note As HM Treasury, FCA Plan New Crypto Regs

Taken together, HM Treasury’s recently proposed crypto-asset regulations and the Financial Conduct Authority’s new discussion paper on regulating crypto-asset activities provide key insights into the government's planned regime, which represents significant changes that will affect all firms providing related services, says Mark Chalmers at Davis Polk.
FCA Update Eases Private Stock Market Disclosure Rules

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recently updated proposals for the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System would result in less onerous disclosure obligations for businesses, reflecting ongoing efforts to balance an attractive trading venue for private companies while maintaining sufficient investor protections, say lawyers at Debevoise.
Why Cos. Should Investigate Unethical Supply Chain Conduct

The U.K. government’s recent updated guidance for businesses on reporting slavery and human trafficking in supply chains underscores the urgent need for companies to adopt transparent and measurable due diligence practices, reinforcing the broader need for proactive internal investigations into unethical or criminal conduct, say lawyers at Seladore and Matrix Chambers.
How UK Proposals Would Simplify Fund Manager Regime

The ongoing HM Treasury consultation and Financial Conduct Authority call for input on the future regulation of alternative investment fund managers indicate that deliberate steps are being taken to make the AIF regime more suitable for the U.K. market, with the aim of encouraging growth and competitiveness, says Leonard Ng at Sidley.