Insurance UK

'Name And Shame' Test Case Ruling Could Embolden FCA

Financial services companies should be ready to engage with consumers when faced with enforcement action, in a lesson from a test case of the reasoning behind a Financial Conduct Authority decision to "name and shame" a company that could encourage bolder naming actions, lawyers said.

FCA's Tokenization Plan May Heighten Financial Crime Risk

The Financial Conduct Authority's planned tokenization regime to help asset managers trade investment funds as digital assets could expose investors to financial criminals lurking in crypto-markets, with the regulator's "targeted support" rules multiplying the risk, lawyers have warned.

Surface of polluted water reflecting sunlight with a leaf.

'Forever Chemicals' Pollution Claims Seeping Into UK Courts

Litigation over widely used "forever chemicals" that has led to big payouts in the U.S. could become a source of significant exposure for insurers and their policyholders in the U.K. following a recent settlement.

View of the wheels of a row of cars lined up.

Senior Managers At Risk In FCA's £8B Motor Finance Plan

The Financial Conduct Authority's proposed £8.2 billion ($11 billion) car finance redress scheme would force senior managers of lenders to put their heads on the block by attesting that they have adequate systems to identify customers for compensation, with wrong decisions risking enforcement action by the regulator, lawyers have warned.

November 18, 2025
SFO To Move Headquarters To Canary Wharf In 2026

The U.K.'s white-collar crime agency said on Tuesday that it will move its headquarters to Canary Wharf in 2026 as it stressed that the new location in east London will help it meet the challenges of investigating serious fraud and corruption.
November 18, 2025
EU Targets Financial Cyber-Risks With New IT Provider Rules

The three financial watchdogs of the European Union named on Tuesday the designated third-party providers of critical information and communication technology for finance companies, which it will regulate directly.
November 18, 2025
Kuwaiti Pension Chief's Heirs Fight To Avoid $1B Fraud Debt

The children of a former Kuwaiti pensions fund director told an appeals court on Tuesday that they should not be held liable for their now-dead father's alleged $1 billion fraud debt, arguing that successors outside the English jurisdiction cannot be forced to pay.
November 18, 2025
Aviva To Launch AI Tool For Life Insurance Applications

Aviva said Tuesday it will launch what it called an industry-first artificial intelligence tool designed to speed up the underwriting process in life insurance applications.
November 18, 2025
40% Of Pension Trustees Would Consider 'Surplus Release'

Four in 10 pension trustees would consider tapping into defined benefit surpluses in what represents a "vast amount of capital" that could be reinvested in the economy, a law firm said Tuesday.
November 18, 2025
Pensions Lifeboat Retains Zero Levy On UK Schemes

The Pension Protection Fund said it would retain its zero levy on workplace retirement plans in the next financial year, provided new legislation is successfully passed by then.
November 18, 2025
State Pension Shortfall Highlights Retiree Savings Gap

A single pensioner maintaining a minimum standard of living in 2025 would "theoretically run out of money" on Nov. 22 if their only source of retirement was the state pension, analysis by Just Group shows.
November 17, 2025
UK Lifeboat Fund To Boost Deposit Protection To £120K

The Bank of England said Tuesday that the Financial Services Compensation Scheme will increase the limit for reimbursement on deposits held by customers of failed banks to £120,000 ($158,000) from December.
November 17, 2025
UK Life Insurers Show Resilience In 2025 Stress Tests

The Bank of England said Monday that it has found in a stress test that major life insurers can withstand large market shocks — but some are unprepared for risky outcomes from transferring responsibility for pension payouts through funded reinsurance.
November 17, 2025
Insurance Body Sets Out Plan To Close Global Protection Gap

Governments, policymakers and regulators should take steps to close the gap between insured and uninsured losses from natural catastrophes across the world, as more than $180 billion in losses go uninsured every year, a public-private partnership has said.
November 17, 2025
CMS, Freshfields Steer £600M Aviva, Wolseley Pension Deal

Wolseley Group, the U.K.'s largest specialist merchant for plumbing, heating, cooling and infrastructure products, has offloaded pension liabilities worth £600 million ($790 million) to insurance giant Aviva in a deal guided by Freshfields and CMS, the insurer said Monday.
November 17, 2025
Fraudulent Insurance Claims Continue To Top £1B A Year

Fraudulent claims in the U.K. general insurance sector rose again in 2024, with those linked to motor cover driving much of the increase, the Association of British Insurers warned on Monday.
November 17, 2025
SocGen To Launch An Additional €1B Share Buyback Program

Société Générale said Monday it will roll out a new €1 billion ($1.2 billion) share repurchase program, a move expected to lower its outstanding share capital.
November 14, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen Freeths face a professional negligence claim from a Scottish car dealership, Rolls-Royce sue logistics giant Kuehne + Nagel, and a team of Oberon Investments Group investment managers sued by their former employer.
November 14, 2025
UK Compensation Program To Slash Annual Levy To £342M

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme said it is on track to slash £14 million ($18.4 million) from its levy on businesses in 2026 as it predicts that claims against pension providers will fall.
November 14, 2025
BoE Weighs New Role For Capital Markets In Life Insurance

The Bank of England said Friday it is considering ways in which life insurance companies can package risk for private investors in a bid to further boost the rapidly growing industry.
November 14, 2025
Denmark Has Until Dec. 12 To Appeal £1.4B Cum-Ex Defeat

Denmark has 28 days to try to revive its £1.4 billion ($1.8 billion) case over a tax fraud allegedly orchestrated by convicted hedge fund trader Sanjay Shah, a judge said Friday as he gave full reasons for refusing permission to appeal.
November 14, 2025
AXA XL Settles With Lessor In $334M Stranded Planes Claim

An Irish aircraft lessor has reached a settlement with AXA XL in its $334 million claim against several major insurers over payouts for planes stranded in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, the latest development in wide-ranging multibillion-dollar litigation.
November 13, 2025
Geopolitical Uncertainty Pushes UK Pension Profit Warnings

More than half of the profit warnings issued between July and September by London-listed companies that have a defined benefit pension scheme cited policy change and geopolitical uncertainty as the cause, a professional services firm said Thursday.
November 13, 2025
Broker Says Asset Manager Owes Unpaid Finder's Fees

Investment broker Musst Holdings Ltd. said Thursday that an asset manager owed it unpaid finder's fees for $85 million in investments Musst had facilitated.
November 13, 2025
FCA Warns CFD Firms Over Unfair Consumer Practices

The Financial Conduct Authority on Thursday warned some providers of a type of financial bet called contracts for difference are failing to provide "fair value" for U.K. consumers.
November 13, 2025
Insurance Lobby Pushes Back On Rumored Budget Changes

The government risks undermining the financial security of millions if it pushes ahead with rumored changes to pension tax relief in the budget, an insurance trade body warned Thursday.
November 13, 2025
UK Gov't To Rethink WASPI Ruling On Eve Of Court Date

The government said it will reassess its controversial decision not to pay compensation to millions of women over state pension shortfalls, after new evidence emerged before an upcoming legal battle with campaigners.
November 12, 2025
HMRC Hikes Business Fees For Supervising AML Compliance

The U.K. tax authority disclosed Wednesday that it will be increasing the fees it charges businesses to cover the cost of supervising them for compliance with anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regulations.
November 12, 2025
FCA To Work With Singapore To Drive AI Innovation

The Financial Conduct Authority said Wednesday that it has struck up a partnership with its Singaporean counterpart to support safe innovation in artificial intelligence as it moves to strengthen its international footprint.

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

FCA Proposals Reduce Consumer Duty Compliance Burden

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent proposals to streamline the consumer duty regime represent a pragmatic response to industry concerns, with a move toward sector-specific supervision and potentially narrowing its scope for wholesale and cross-border business, say lawyers at Simmons & Simmons.
How New Companies House ID Rules Affect Businesses

Lawyers at Shepherd & Wedderburn discuss the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act’s new mandatory identity verification requirements for all company directors and persons with significant control, set to go live next week, which aim to curb fraud by improving the reliability of information held by Companies House.
What EU Securitization Proposals Signal For Risk Transfers

If implemented, recent amendments to the European Union securitization framework are expected to have an unambiguously positive effect on significant risk transfer markets, providing greater consistency and necessary flexibility, say lawyers at McDermott.
What To Know About EU's Reimposition Of Sanctions On Iran

Lawyers at Steptoe discuss the European Union’s recent reimposition of trade and financial sanctions against Iran, which will introduce legal and operational constraints that affect EU companies' commercial activities in the region.
FCA Crypto Proposals Herald Tougher Oversight For Firms

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent proposals to extend regulation to crypto-asset activities will bring parity, but implementation of the operational resilience requirements and enhanced financial crime controls will present compliance challenges, says Michelle Kirschner at Gibson Dunn.
What EBA Report Means For Non-EU Financial Firms

In a recent report concerning unregulated third country banks, the European Banking Authority decided not to extend a bank-to-bank exemption under the Capital Requirements Directive, raising a number of compliance issues for cross-border services, say lawyers at A&O Shearman.
What To Note From FCA, Gov't Financial Growth Proposals

Recent Financial Conduct Authority and government proposals for financial services reform are positive developments for firms, signaling a drive to push forward growth and a willingness to be flexible in areas of regulation that the industry has long raised as barriers, say lawyers at Simmons & Simmons.
FCA Misconduct Guide Will Expand Firms' Duty To Investigate

The Financial Conduct Authority's recent proposals on workplace nonfinancial misconduct will place a greater onus on compliance and investigations teams, clarifying that the question to ascertain is whether the behavior is justifiable and proportionate, say lawyers at Ashurst.
Mansion House Speech Heralds New Financial Regulatory Era

The chancellor of the exchequer's recent Mansion House speech introduced a sweeping commitment to modernize regulation, which will require U.K. retail banks and building societies to revisit core assumptions, and allow lawyers to play a key role in shaping the new rules, say lawyers at Addleshaw Goddard.
Key Points From EU Proposals To Ease Securitization Rules

The European Commission’s recently proposed securitization framework amendments aim to relax existing rules, such as by reducing due diligence requirements and removing the need for investors to conduct certain prescribed compliance verifications by sponsors or original lenders, say lawyers at McDermott.
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.