New legislation laid out in the King's Speech on Wednesday included the government's plans for a bill to strengthen trading ties with the European Union alongside an Enhancing Financial Services Bill in the next 12 months, but lawyers warn that the scope remains limited with potential unexpected consequences.
New powers that put companies on the chopping block for crimes committed by their executives dramatically expand corporate liability to include a wider array of offenses, which businesses already struggling with "compliance fatigue" have barely begun to grapple with, lawyers say.
A ruling by Britain's highest court that allows insurers to cut payouts for claims based on COVID-19 furlough payments could affect how other types of government financial support will work in the future, lawyers say.
An approaching deadline for new claims for COVID-19 business interruption has prompted a series of last-minute court filings, but lawyers say that any fresh disputes will be narrow and likely to focus on complex questions not resolved by earlier test cases.
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New legislation laid out in the King's Speech on Wednesday included the government's plans for a bill to strengthen trading ties with the European Union alongside an Enhancing Financial Services Bill in the next 12 months, but lawyers warn that the scope remains limited with potential unexpected consequences.
New powers that put companies on the chopping block for crimes committed by their executives dramatically expand corporate liability to include a wider array of offenses, which businesses already struggling with "compliance fatigue" have barely begun to grapple with, lawyers say.
A ruling by Britain's highest court that allows insurers to cut payouts for claims based on COVID-19 furlough payments could affect how other types of government financial support will work in the future, lawyers say.
An approaching deadline for new claims for COVID-19 business interruption has prompted a series of last-minute court filings, but lawyers say that any fresh disputes will be narrow and likely to focus on complex questions not resolved by earlier test cases.
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May 22, 2026
The past week in London has seen Napster sued by a music royalties company, White & Case LLP and Laytons LLP targeted in a claim by a property developer, a short-term lender pursue legal action against law firm Rainer Hughes and its former founding partner following his strike-off for money laundering offenses, and the administrators of London Bridging sue the founder of collapsed Market Financial Solutions. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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May 22, 2026
The government said Friday that it collected £499 million ($671 million) in insurance tax receipts in April — £149 million less than it registered in the corresponding month of 2025, marking what experts called a "softer start" to the financial year.
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May 22, 2026
Direct Line has called on dog owners to remain vigilant, saying a new study by its pet insurance department shows that an estimated equivalent of four dogs a day on average were stolen across Britain in 2025.
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May 22, 2026
Bulk purchase insurers held nearly two-thirds of their total assets of more than £200 billion ($268 billion) within the U.K. in 2024, a trade body has said.
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May 22, 2026
New regulations that will reshape Britain's local government pensions investments will come into force in June, as a minister said the reforms will improve retirement returns for millions of council workers and unlock more cash for economic investment.
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May 22, 2026
The average surplus of defined benefit pension plans sponsored by Britain's top 100 companies was more than £550 million ($738.4 million) at the end of 2025, a consultancy has said, with an aggregate surplus estimated at almost £40 billion.
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May 21, 2026
British policymakers must ensure that the gap between damage caused by the climate crisis and what is actually insured does not grow between now and 2050, a statutory government body has said, warning that the climate crisis is "eroding" the fundamentals of the sector.
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May 21, 2026
Most U.K. defined benefit pension programs have now decided their long-term plans for their eventual managed wind-downs, including buyouts by insurance groups, an Aon PLC report showed on Thursday.
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May 21, 2026
Allianz UK said Thursday that it has bolstered its long-standing insurance partnership with Asda by adding home and motor cover, boosting the supermarket giant's protection offering for its customers.
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May 21, 2026
The Information Commissioner's Office said Thursday it had secured a confiscation order of more than £355,000 ($476,000) against a former motor insurance worker convicted of unlawfully accessing and selling personal data for financial gain.
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May 21, 2026
The Bank of England said Thursday that it will loosen rules to make it easier for foreign insurers to operate in the U.K. as part of an effort to boost the national economy.
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May 21, 2026
The U.K. has topped mainland Europe as the leading destination for foreign investment in financial and professional services despite Brexit and global volatility, the governing body of the City of London said on Thursday.
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May 21, 2026
Standard Life PLC has said it has insured £200 million ($268 million) of the liabilities of its own staff pension program, in a deal guided by Linklaters.
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May 21, 2026
A cross-party House of Lords committee said Thursday that it has launched an investigation into the regulation of the consumer insurance market to ensure oversight of home and travel cover is working effectively for customers in Britain.
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May 20, 2026
Britain's triple lock state pension is ripe for reform, a U.K. think tank has said, arguing the policy is becoming unaffordable and unfair to younger taxpayers, and instead proposing more targeted support for poorer retirees.
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May 20, 2026
A London judge has rejected Liberty Mutual's bid to require a formally diagnosed case of COVID-19 to trigger cover for dozens of small and midsized businesses, saying on Wednesday that doing so would "render cover illusory."
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May 20, 2026
The retirement savings watchdog pushed out rules for pension bosses on the use of artificial intelligence on Wednesday after it emerged that almost all retirement schemes in the U.K. are using the new technology.
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May 20, 2026
Most venture capital firms say they have faced difficulties getting backing from pension investors, despite assurances that the £250 billion ($335 billion) defined contribution sector will invest more in U.K. equities, a trade body has said.
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May 20, 2026
The Financial Conduct Authority said Wednesday that it has expanded a support scheme for fast-growing companies as the U.K. looks to strengthen its position as a global hub for businesses and services in the sector.
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May 19, 2026
Parts of England are at risk of not being able to support future building and development because of floods unless the government takes a "more ambitious approach to flood resilience," a specialist insurer warned on Tuesday.
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May 19, 2026
The Swiss consortium behind a pipeline destroyed by sabotage in 2022 argued in the closing stages of a €580 million ($672 million) trial on Tuesday that it was "no small thing" to conclude the attack was carried out on Ukraine's behalf.
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May 19, 2026
The Financial Conduct Authority told young drivers on Tuesday to be wary of ghost-broking scams online as it revealed that nearly half of young people on the road have bought car insurance through social media or messaging apps.
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May 19, 2026
Cyberattacks on businesses in Britain are estimated to have cost £3.7 billion ($5 billion) in litigation in 2025, an insurance broker has said, warning that many do not have sufficient cover to protect against legal and reputational damage caused by a major breach.
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May 19, 2026
Higher retirement savings contributions and tougher rules on pension freedoms are probably on the cards, a former government minister said Tuesday, after a report found that 15 million people are not saving enough for later life.
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May 19, 2026
A group of insurers has said it is not liable to pay $8.6 million outstanding to the owner of an oil tanker damaged by a fire in its engine room because the owner allegedly took unreasonably expensive steps to repair the vessel.