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The Biggest Developments In Insurance In 2024

The financial watchdog has come under pressure this year from the Labour government to tackle the cost of insurance, which has soared because of rising claims caused by the ongoing repercussions from Brexit and the war in Ukraine.
January 03, 2025
Clyde & Co. Merges With Dallas Insurance Boutique

Clyde & Co. LLP has announced a merger with Dallas boutique Tillman Batchelor LLP, expanding the global law firm's insurance capabilities in Texas amid its ongoing growth in North America.
January 03, 2025
Complaints Commissioner To Warn FCA About P2P Lending

The Complaints Commissioner for financial regulators has undertaken to write to the Financial Conduct Authority on significant issues in the peer-to-peer lending sector.
January 03, 2025
Lloyd's Insurer Says No Business Interrupted In £3.7M Row

A Lloyd's of London insurer has reiterated that the owner of a property in Greater Manchester cannot claim £3.7 million in damages and business interruption cover because no actual business was occurring at the building damaged by a burst water pipe.
January 03, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen Chris Eubank Jr. hit with a libel claim from a boxing promoter, a perfume boss face proceedings from his businesses following sanctions violations claims, and Israeli broadcasters file intellectual property claims against BT and Sky. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
January 03, 2025
UK Levy Hike Drives Labor Costs Up In 2025, Think Tank Says

U.K. businesses are facing a spike in labor costs, thanks to the government's decision to raise employers' National Insurance contributions, a payroll levy used to fund social programs, a think tank said Friday.
January 03, 2025
Early Settlements Could Cut Russia Aviation Claims By $10B

Insurers could reduce claims for aircraft stranded in Russia by as much as $10 billion through early settlements, a broker has said, but warned that the final bill will still be the largest aviation loss in history.
January 03, 2025
Trustees Warned On 'Dead Money' Over Pensions Portal

Trustees of pension scheme should carefully decide whether it is in the best interest of their members to connect to the long-awaited online retirement savings dashboards program and incur its associated costs, a retirement savings specialist said Friday.
January 02, 2025
Legal Expenses Insurer Restructures After DAS Acquisition

British insurer ARAG PLC said Thursday it has now fully integrated DAS UK, the legal protection insurer that it bought a year ago amid a broader restructuring of the company's operations.
January 02, 2025
EU's 1st Financial Regulation Deal With Japan In Force

The European Union said that a first-ever agreement with Japan designed to improve regulation in banking and other financial services and to combat money laundering has come into force.
January 02, 2025
Global Insurance Prices Dip For First Time Since 2017

Insurance prices for businesses globally fell by 0.9% last year, the first decrease after seven years of rate hikes and a possible sign of a market turn, Howden said Thursday.
January 02, 2025
Elite Law Denies Fault In Lender's £1.9M Loan Fraud Case

An English firm of solicitors has denied a claim that it cost a lender £1.9 million ($2.4 million) by failing to spot that the borrower of a property loan was allegedly a fraudster, telling a London court that it was not obliged to verify his identity.
January 02, 2025
New Superfund Expected In 2025 Pension Deals Market

A second defined benefit superfund could enter the pensions risk transfer market in 2025, a retirement savings consultancy said on Thursday as it predicted another bumper year ahead for transactions.
January 01, 2025
Pensions, Insurance Risk Consolidation On Radar For 2025

The main themes in 2025 for the insurance and pensions sectors will be consolidation and government priorities for greater investment in the economy —although potential legal and systemic risks loom.
January 01, 2025
Regulation To Prioritize UK Growth Over Risk-Aversion In 2025

Financial regulators have committed to giving priority to economic growth over risk-aversion in 2025 under new government priorities, a rebalancing that could create a conflict of interest with a recent focus on protecting consumers.
December 23, 2024
Clifford Chance Steers Aviva's £3.7B Offer For Direct Line

Insurer Aviva PLC said Monday that it will buy a rival company, Direct Line, in a £3.7 billion ($4.7 billion) cash and stock deal, a move that will create a British motor and home insurance giant.
December 20, 2024
Many Firms Lack AI In Risk Operations, Study Finds

A new study highlighted by UK Finance on Friday has found that almost four in 10 financial services organizations have not implemented artificial intelligence in their risk operations, leaving them with a widening technology gap compared with those who are so prepared.
December 20, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen the University of Southampton sue a drone-maker over the rights to an uncrewed aircraft patent, Importers Service Corp. and its subsidiary ISC Europe take action against a former director who allegedly owes the company over £1.1 million ($1.4 million), and DAC Beachcroft face a fraud claim by a "prolific litigant."
December 20, 2024
Pension Scams Body Held Back By Lack Of Industry Funding

An influential campaign group on pension scams said Friday that it will not be able to play a bigger role in raising awareness without funding from the retirement sector.
December 20, 2024
Law Firm Awarded £4.2M For Co.'s Mishandled PPI Claims

A London court awarded a specialist litigation law firm almost £4.2 million ($5.3 million) on Friday for the costs of a professional services company's botched handling of payment protection insurance claims.
December 20, 2024
Pinsent Masons Hires Brabners' Head Of Pensions

Pinsent Masons LLP has recruited the head of Brabners' pensions team to join its growing pensions practice in Manchester, as the firm looks to respond to the continued consolidation of the pensions market.
December 20, 2024
The Biggest UK Commercial Litigation Cases Of 2024

The High Court and Court of Appeal resolved some landmark legal disputes in 2024 — the justices liberated the open-source cryptocurrency community from spats over intellectual property protection and determined liability for the high-profile collapse of London Capital & Finance.
December 20, 2024
Top UK Court Won't Hear Excel Biz Interruption Test Case

The U.K. Supreme Court has blocked an effort by insurers to overturn a landmark insurance test case ruling involving the Excel exhibition center in London, with thousands of policyholders now in line for payouts for losses from the COVID-19 pandemic almost five years ago.
December 20, 2024
Financial Adviser Colbourne In Default After FCA Restrictions

The Financial Conduct Authority has said that Colbourne & Co., an independent financial adviser that it has prevented from doing regulated business, is in default and that clients can claim compensation.
December 19, 2024
Arsenal, Liverpool Settle With Insurers In COVID-19 Dispute

Two Premier League clubs have hammered out a settlement with their insurers over a multimillion-pound lawsuit on COVID-19 business interruption claims.
December 19, 2024
Lloyd's Syndicate Says £1M Property Claim Exaggerated

A Lloyd's syndicate has denied owing £1 million ($1.25 million) to cover costs of subsidence damage to a property in southern England, arguing the owner fraudulently exaggerated the claim and submitted false documents.

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

Anticipating The UK's Top M&A Trends In 2025

Conversations with market participants are focusing on five key questions about 2025's transactional markets, ranging from issues of artificial intelligence, to the boom in takeovers and increased regulatory scrutiny, says Layla D’Monte at King & Spalding.
Hawaii Climate Insurance Case Is Good News For Energy Cos.

The Hawaii Supreme Court's recent ruling in a dispute between an oil company and its insurers, holding that reckless conduct in the context of activities that can cause climate harms is covered by liability policies, will likely be viewed by energy companies as a positive development, say attorneys at Fenchurch Law.
The EU AI Act's Impact On Global Financial Regulation

The European Union’s new Artificial Intelligence Act, representing lawmakers’ first comprehensive attempt to regulate AI and giving special attention to the financial services sector, hopes to influence global legal and regulatory frameworks to maintain access to the EU market, say lawyers at Goodwin.
FCA Survey Results Reveal Rise In Nonfinancial Misconduct

After a Financial Conduct Authority survey recently reported a significant rise in nonfinancial misconduct, there are a number of preventive steps firms should take to create a healthy workplace environment and mitigate the risk of increased regulatory scrutiny, say lawyers at WilmerHale.
FCA's Broad Proposals Aim To Protect Customer Funds

The Financial Conduct Authority’s proposed changes to payments firms’ safeguarding requirements, with enhanced recordkeeping and fund segregation, seek to bolster existing regulatory provisions, but by introducing a statutory trust concept to cover customers’ assets, represent a set of onerous rules, says Matt Hancock at Greenberg Traurig.
Modernizing UK Trade Settlement Standard: The Road Ahead

Andrew Tsang and Tom Bacon at BCLP consider the rationale and challenges of a potential U.K. trade settlement acceleration, part of an initiative to modernize the financial market infrastructure, and suggest that incorporating distributed ledger technology as a synchronized recording system would facilitate the move.
A Look At UK, EU And US Cartel Enforcement Trends

The European Union, U.K. and U.S. competition agencies' recently issued joint statement on competition risks in generative artificial intelligence demonstrates increased cross-border collaboration on cartel investigations, meaning companies facing investigations in one jurisdiction should anticipate related investigations in other jurisdictions, say lawyers at Latham & Watkins.
What Green Claims Directive Proposal Means For Businesses

With the European Union’s recent adoption of a general approach to the proposed Green Claims Directive, which will regulate certain environmental claims and likely be finalized next year, companies keen to publicize their green credentials have even more reason to tread carefully, say Marcus Navin-Jones and Juge Gregg at Crowell & Moring.
EU Reports Signal Greenwashing Focus For Financial Sector

Reports from the European Supervisory Authorities on enforcement of sustainability information, plus related guidance issued by the European Securities and Markets Authority, represent a fundamental change in how businesses must operate to maintain integrity and public trust, say Amilcare Sada and Matteo Fanton at A&O Shearman.
Embedding Consumer Duty: 6 Areas Firms Should Prioritize

The Financial Conduct Authority has repeatedly emphasized that complying with the Consumer Duty is not a tick-box exercise but an ongoing responsibility, so firms need to show that the duty is at the heart of their practices by staying compliant in areas from cultural change to customer vulnerability, say Nicola Higgs and Becky Critchley at Latham.
Insuring Lender's Baseball Bet Leads To Major League Dispute

In RockFence v. Lloyd's, a California federal court seeks to define who qualifies as a professional baseball player for purposes of an insurance coverage payout, providing an illuminating case study of potential legal issues arising from baseball service loans, say Marshall Gilinsky and Seán McCabe at Anderson Kill.
What Steps Businesses Can Take After CrowdStrike Failure

Following last month’s global Microsoft platform outage caused by CrowdStrike’s failed security software update, businesses can expect complex disputes over liability resulting from multilayered agreements and should look to their various insurance policies for cover despite losses not stemming from a cyberattack, says Daniel Healy at Brown Rudnick.
What To Expect From Labour's Pension Schemes Bill

The Labour government’s recently announced Pension Schemes Bill, outlining key policy areas affecting the retirement savings sector, represents a positive step forward for both defined contribution scheme members and defined benefit superfunds, but there are some missing features, says Sonya Fraser at Arc Pensions.
What EU Opinion May Mean For ESG Product Classification

The recently issued European Supervisory Authority opinion on the Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation offers key recommendations, including revising the definition of sustainable investments and making principal adverse impacts consideration mandatory, that could sway the European Commission’s final approach to product classification, say lawyers at Debevoise.
Insurance Rulings Show Court Hesitancy To Fix Policy Errors

Two recent Court of Appeal insurance decisions highlight that policyholders can only overcome policy drafting errors and claim coverage if there is a very obvious mistake, emphasizing courts' reluctance to rewrite contract terms that are capable of enforcement, says Aaron Le Marquer at Stewarts.