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Snap July 4 Election Leaves Pension Reform In Disarray

The government's decision to call a snap general election for July 4 has left the U.K.'s pension sector in limbo, experts say, with uncertainty over whether the next administration will continue with an ambitious reform program.
November 25, 2024
Italy's UniCredit Makes €10B Offer For Rival Banco BPM

UniCredit SpA said Monday that it has offered to buy rival Italian lender Banco BPM SpA for €10 billion ($10.5 billion) in an all-share deal, with the aim of creating a pan-European banking giant.
November 25, 2024
DLA, Mayer Brown Steer £1.7B Pension Deal For National Grid

The U.K.'s largest utilities provider has offloaded £1.7 billion ($2.1 billion) of its pension liabilities to Aviva PLC, the insurer said Monday, in a deal guided by DLA Piper UK LLP and Mayer Brown International LLP.
November 25, 2024
FCA Rewrites Disclosure Rules, Handing Suspects The Reins

Changes to disclosure rules at the Financial Conduct Authority will give defendants more insight into its investigations than ever before — though the development might swamp those that cannot afford top legal advisers, lawyers say.
November 22, 2024
UK Insurer L&G Bags $2.2B US Pension Deals In 2024

Legal & General Group PLC said on Friday that it has completed $2.2 billion worth of pensions risk transfer business in the U.S. in 2024, a record amount for the U.K. financial services giant.
November 22, 2024
MPs To Probe UK Pensioner Poverty Amid Rising Costs

A cross-party parliamentary committee on Friday launched an inquiry into pensioner poverty in the U.K., seeking views on which measures have been most effective in addressing the cost of living for retirees.
November 22, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen cash-strapped Thurrock Borough Council bring a £40 million ($50 million) negligence claim against 23 other local authorities over its solar investments from a not-for-profit local government body, AstraZeneca sue a fire safety company following a blaze at its Cambridge headquarters last year, and a director who was convicted in 2016 for corporate manslaughter face action by Manolete Partners. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
November 22, 2024
EU Finance Body Says Climate Disclosure Rules Too Detailed

A trade body for European financial institutions has warned an international accounting standard-setter that its proposed climate-related disclosures for financial statements are too detailed, imposing compliance expectations beyond existing accounting standards.
November 22, 2024
UK Gov't To Increase Whiplash Injury Tariff By 15%

The government said it will raise the fixed damages for "whiplash" neck injuries suffered in motor accidents by 15% to account for inflation, but claimant groups say the planned increase does not go far enough.
November 22, 2024
Speed Up Settlement Process, FCA Tells Life Insurers

The finance regulator told life insurance firms on Friday to speed up claims settlements and improve customer service for bereaved people, saying that it takes them an average of 53 to 122 days to process a claim and 53 days to deal with "whole of life" policies.
November 21, 2024
Dashboard Project Updates Pension Scheme Reporting Rules

Pension providers and schemes will face less onerous reporting requirements during the initial connection phase to the long-awaited dashboards project under changes announced by the program's coordinator Thursday.
November 21, 2024
Swiss Crack Down On Health Insurance Cold Calling After Ban

Switzerland's financial markets regulator on Thursday said it has launched investigations into four insurance and intermediary businesses suspected of breaching the recently introduced ban on cold calling in the health insurance sector.
November 21, 2024
EU Watchdogs Set Rules On Sharing Staff Fitness Reports

European Union regulators have set out guidelines for their new information exchange system to help national regulators assess the suitability of senior managers for key roles in financial services.
November 21, 2024
HCR Law Grows Insurance Practice With Litigation Specialist

Harrison Clark Rickerbys Ltd. has tapped Keith Mathews as a legal director in the firm's insurance and risk team in London from DAC Beachcroft LLP.
November 21, 2024
FCA Weighing Wider Impact Of Motor Finance Ruling

The Financial Conduct Authority said it is considering issuing guidance amid growing legal uncertainty over commission arrangements following a bombshell court ruling on motor finance.
November 20, 2024
11th Circ. Says No Coverage For Holding Co. In $11.7M Row

The Eleventh Circuit unanimously affirmed Wednesday that an insurer doesn't have to cover underlying litigation against a holding company by investors who wanted to revoke an $11.7 million buy-in, because claims were made before the policy was active.
November 20, 2024
Oakley Capital To Invest In German Insurance Agent

Oakley Capital said Wednesday that it has indirectly acquired German insurance managing general agent Konzept & Marketing, or K&M, through its Fund V, with the European mid-market investor injecting approximately £14 million ($17.7 million) into the deal.
November 20, 2024
Watchdog Censures Insurance Agency Over Breaches In Sales

The Competition and Markets Authority censured Prima Insurance on Wednesday for failing to properly explain the costs over more than a year of a policy add-on to thousands of consumers.
November 20, 2024
Marsh Says Greensill Bank Can't Add It To Australian Dispute

Marsh urged a court Wednesday to maintain an order banning Greensill Bank AG from dragging it into litigation in Australia linked to the collapse of the wider group, arguing that the lender is bound by an English jurisdiction clause in its contract with the insurance broker.
November 20, 2024
European Council Greenlights ESG Rating Regime

The European Union has adopted new rules to regulate environmental, social and governance rating activities to make them more transparent, consistent and comparable in a move to improve investors' trust in sustainable financial products.
November 20, 2024
Aviva Unveils Islamic-Compliant Workplace Pensions Strategy

Insurance giant Aviva has launched a tailored solution for members of workplace pensions who want investment options that are compliant with Islamic law, introducing a range of funds and universal de-risking options.
November 20, 2024
Danish Pensions Biz Sells £48M Of Shares In Helios Towers

Denmark's largest pensions and processing company said on Wednesday that it has sold shares in Helios Towers PLC, a telecommunications company based in Britain, raising approximately £48 million ($61 million).
November 19, 2024
Truck Insurance Must Arbitrate Asbestos Coverage Claims

Truck Insurance Exchange must arbitrate its dispute with a group of reinsurers over coverage for asbestos bodily injury claims filed against Kaiser Cement & Gypsum, a California federal judge ruled, saying there was "little difficulty" in concluding that the case falls within the parties' arbitration agreement.
November 19, 2024
Redress Scheme Reports 18% Jump In Decisions On Claims

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme reported on Tuesday an 18% year-on-year increase in decisions on claims filed by customers of failed financial companies during the first six months of the fiscal year that ends in March 2025.
November 19, 2024
Ex-Director Ordered To Repay £9.7M To Pension Funds

A former director of a U.K. pension scheme trustee company must repay more than £9.7 million ($12.3 million) into two retirement savings plans after the sector's ombudsman found he acted dishonestly by facilitating dubious investments.
November 19, 2024
Marsh Unit Buys Greece Reinsurance Joint Venture

Reinsurance specialist Guy Carpenter said Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire full control of its Greek reinsurance broking and advisory joint venture Carpenter Turner 11 years after it was launched.

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'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.
EU Investment Fund Standards Offer Welcome Clarity

The European Commission’s recently published regulatory technical standards for long-term investments, which granted managers greater flexibility with respect to open-ended European long-term investment funds, should help managers active in the space navigate the mandatory liquidity requirements for long-term investment funds, say Zac Mellor-Clark and Nishkaam Paul at Fried Frank.
10 Ways To Manage AI Risks In Service Contracts

With the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act coming into force on Aug. 1 and introducing a new regulatory risk, and with AI technology continuing to develop at pace, parties to services arrangements should employ mechanisms now to build in flexibility and get on the front foot, says James Longster at Travers Smith.
Unpacking The New Concept Of 'Trading Misfeasance'

In addition to granting one of the largest trading awards since the Insolvency Act was passed in 1986, the High Court recently introduced a novel claim for misfeasant trading in Wright v. Chappell, opening the door to liability for directors, even where insolvent liquidation or administration was not inevitable, say lawyers at Greenberg Traurig.
Key Takeaways From Proposed EU Anticorruption Directive

The European Commission's anticorruption proposal, on which the EU Council recently adopted a position, will substantially alter the landscape of corporate compliance and liability across the EU, so companies will need to undertake rigorous revisions of their compliance frameworks to align with the directive's demands, say lawyers at Linklaters.