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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.
July 26, 2024
Virgin Loses Court Battle To Keep Pension Plan Changes

An appeals court has ruled that regulations on contracted-out retirement savings plans require written confirmation from a scheme's actuary for changes affecting beneficiaries' future rights, not just past benefits, rejecting Virgin Media's challenge to a decision voiding decades-old changes to one of its pensions.
July 26, 2024
Ellex-Led ERGO To Buy €80M Baltic Biz Of European Insurer

European insurance heavyweight ERGO Group has agreed to acquire Norwegian nonlife insurer Gjensidige Forsikring ASA's Lithuania-based subsidiary ADB Gjensidige for €80 million ($87 million).
July 26, 2024
FCA To Overhaul Prospectus Rules To Boost Capital Markets

The Financial Conduct Authority set out plans to shake up the U.K.'s prospectus regime Friday, including new rules for public offers and risk disclosures, to help boost the country's ailing capital markets.
July 26, 2024
EU Banks Must Improve Cyberattack Protection, ECB Says

Lenders in the eurozone still suffer from "shortcomings" in fighting against and recovering from a severe — but plausible — cyberattack, the European Central Bank said Friday after it conducted a resilience stress test.
July 26, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen U.K. band The 1975 face action by Future Sound Asia after its performance in Malaysia resulted in a festival's cancelation, Spectrum Insurance hit by The Motoring Organization following their dispute over information misuse, and a former police constable pursue defamation against a colleague for allegedly instigating a campaign of harassment against her. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
July 26, 2024
Fraudster Sentenced For Instagram Motor Insurance Scam

A man who made almost £18,000 by operating as a "ghost broker" and selling invalid car insurance policies on Instagram has been handed a suspended prison sentence of 24 months at a London court, City Police has said.
July 25, 2024
Insurer Can't Link Secrets Suit To $47M Claim, Ex-Worker Says

A former worker for British insurance company Beazley urged a Florida federal court Thursday to toss claims alleging trade secrets theft, saying the company's suit doesn't show how he supposedly caused it to incur $47 million in damages from an arbitration case over a Brazilian thermoelectric plant.
July 25, 2024
Audit Watchdog Sanctioned Firms £48M Last Year

The Financial Reporting Council revealed Thursday that it fined firms a total of £48.2 million ($62 million) in the financial year ended March 31, including a £21 million fine against auditor KPMG related to its accounting for construction giant Carillion prior to its collapse in 2018.
July 25, 2024
Insurance Trade Bodies Launch Sustainability Data Standard

Two insurance trade bodies have released a resource designed to standardize the way underwriters ask clients about their sustainability data to address fragmented approaches across the industry.
July 25, 2024
ITV Gets Regulatory Nod On Box Clever Pension Resolution

The Pensions Regulator said Thursday that it has inked a preliminary agreement with British broadcaster ITV to provide full pension benefits to members of the Box Clever retirement savings plan after a lengthy legal tussle.
July 25, 2024
Labour Gov't Faces 'Tricky Balancing Act' On Policy Priorities

The Labour government faces a "tricky balancing act" in implementing policies that meet the financial needs of different generations, pensions provider Aegon said Thursday,
July 25, 2024
Freeholders Face Homeowners' Action Over Insurance Fees

Freehold owners are facing a class action from leasehold homeowners for allegedly charging hidden commissions on building insurance premiums for years, the law firm bringing the claim has said.
July 25, 2024
FCA Consumer Duty Deadline May Spark Clash With UK Gov't

The new Labour government and the Financial Conduct Authority could be heading for a clash over what constitutes a vulnerable consumer and how the laws protecting them from abuse should be enforced.
July 24, 2024
EU Trade Body Warns Against FCA Enforcement Plans

A trade body for European financial firms has warned that the Financial Conduct Authority's proposed naming of companies in enforcement investigations would make the U.K. an international outlier, damaging competitiveness.
July 24, 2024
Parsley Producer Sues Broker For £1.3M Over Fire Damage

A herbs and spice producer has sued an insurance broker for nearly £1.3 million ($1.7 million) for allegedly failing to organize sufficient cover that left it short when a fire broke out at its farm.
July 24, 2024
Russia Sanctions Enforcement Lacks Bite, UK Charity Says

Britain must develop a clearer sanctions enforcement strategy, an anti-corruption charity said on Wednesday, as it revealed that the government has issued no fines for breaches of rules since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, more than two years ago.
July 24, 2024
UK Insurer Warns Over Collisions With Russian 'Shadow Fleet'

A marine insurer has warned that sanctions imposed on the Kremlin because of its invasion of Ukraine might prevent it from paying claims over collisions involving vessels insured by Russian rival IPJSC Ingosstrakh.
July 24, 2024
Watchdog Steps In Over Misleading Health Insurance Adverts

The advertising regulator said Wednesday that it has upheld complaints against two ad campaigns run by a nonprofit mutual insurance company on radio and TV, which it found to be misleading.
July 24, 2024
British Steel Pension Redress Scheme Pays Out £8.7M

The Financial Conduct Authority said Wednesday that its redress program for steelworkers given poor pensions advice has paid out a total of just £8.7 million ($11.2 million) in compensation.
July 24, 2024
Can New Pensions Minister 'Serve Two Masters'?

A new British pensions minister with a foot in two competing government departments could help create a more coherent pensions reforms, although some analysts warn of a potential Treasury takeover of pensions policy to prioritize economic stimulus.
July 23, 2024
EU Urged To Give Finance Watchdogs More Powers

A financial trade body on Tuesday called on European Union legislators to give regulators the power to modernize financial markets and make them more globally competitive.
July 23, 2024
Consumer Group Calls For Crackdown On Insurance Practices

The consumer group Which? called Tuesday for a crackdown by regulators after finding that half of insurance customers report a bad experience trying to claim on their policies.
July 23, 2024
Employees Fight 'Harsh' Penalty In Bad Faith Resignation Test

Three former employees of asset recovery companies urged Britain's top court on Tuesday to reconsider the "harsh" remedy against people who quit their jobs to pursue business opportunities said to belong to their employers, a case with potentially wide implications for "bad faith resignations."
July 23, 2024
No Major Hit From CrowdStrike Outage, Insurer Beazley Says

Beazley said Tuesday that it does not expect a major financial impact from the global IT outages that rocked transport and health infrastructure earlier in July, after analysts had warned that the insurer could take a hit of up to $205 million.
July 23, 2024
Bond Administrator Enters Liquidation After FCA Restrictions

The Financial Conduct Authority has confirmed that a London-based bond administrator has entered into liquidation nearly a year after the financial watchdog imposed restrictions on the company over "serious concerns" about its systems and controls.

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

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.
Tips For Implementing EU Sustainability Reporting Guidance

Lawyers at Sullivan & Cromwell discuss the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group’s recently published guidance on double materiality assessments and offer takeaways on achieving a sustainability directive-compliant process that could enhance clarity and consistency among multinational stakeholders.
Why Ukraine Aircraft Insurance Case Failed To Take Off In UK

In Aercap v. PJSC Insurance, the High Court decided the claimants could not avoid an exclusive jurisdiction clause and advance their case in England rather than Ukraine, and the reasoning is likely to be of relevance in future jurisdiction disputes, say Abigail Healey and Genevieve Douglas at Quillon Law.
What New UK Labour Gov't Is Planning For Financial Services

Following the Labour Party’s U.K. election win on July 4, the new government has already announced its key missions for economic growth, green investment and tax reform, so affected Financial Conduct Authority-regulated entities should be prepared for change and on the lookout for details, says Rachael Healey at RPC.
Why Reperforming Loan Securitization In UK And EU May Rise

The recently published new U.K. securitization rules will largely bring the U.K.’s nonperforming loan regime in line with the European Union, and together with the success of EU and U.K. banks in reducing loan ratios, reperforming securitizations may feature more prominently in relevant markets going forward, say lawyers at Morgan Lewis.
Exploring The EU's Draft Standards On Crypto Authorization

The European Securities and Markets Authority’s recently published draft standards aim to promote fair competition and a safer environment for crypto providers and investors, detailing precisely the information to be provided to national authorities in charge of screening the acquisitions of a qualifying holding, says Mathieu de Korvin at Norton Rose.
How FCA Guidance Aligns With Global Cyberattack Measures

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority’s recent guidance on preparing for cyberattacks aligns with the global move by financial regulators to focus on operational resilience, highlighting the importance of proactive strategies and robust resilience frameworks to mitigate disruptions, while observing a disappointing level of engagement by the industry, say Alix Prentice and Grace Ncube at Cadwalader.
EU Anti-Greenwashing Guide Analyzed For Fund Managers

Anna Maleva-Otto and Matthew Dow at Schulte Roth explain how the European Securities and Markets Authority’s new guidelines on sustainability-related terms in fund names aim to protect European Union investors from unsubstantiated claims, and how they provide quantifiable criteria for determining which terms can be used to promote their funds.
How Law Firms Can Handle Challenges Of Mass Claims

With a wave of volume litigation possibly about to hit the U.K. courts, firms developing mass claim practices should ensure they heed the Solicitors Regulation Authority's May warning and adopt strategies to ensure regulatory compliance and fair client representation, says Claire Van der Zant at Shieldpay.
FCA Doubles Down On New Priorities With Target ID Plan

Respondents to the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent consultation on its plan to publicly name subjects under investigation are concerned that the regulator’s cost-benefit analysis has not adequately considered the risks, but the FCA is holding firm, and it seems likely the changes will be implemented, says James Tyler at Peters & Peters.
Insurance Ruling Stresses High Hurdle To Fix Policy Wording

In Project Angel v. Axis, the Court of Appeal recently refused to rewrite the exclusion clause of an insurance policy, reminding parties in the warranty and indemnity market to carefully word clauses, as there is a high threshold before courts will intervene to amend policies, say Joseph Moore and Laura McCann at Travers Smith.
Examining Senior Managers' Accountability For AI Use

With the Financial Conduct Authority's artificial intelligence update and the Prudential Regulation Authority’s letter to the government offering key guidance on the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, Senior Managers in these organizations need to show they have taken steps to prevent breaching requirements in order not to be held personally accountable, says Jennifer Holyoake at DLA Piper.
What Cos. Should Know About The EU Greenwashing Rules

The EU's recently proposed Green Claims Directive introduces new rules to improve the transparency and honesty of environmental claims in advertising, which will help ensure that consumers receive accurate and reliable information to make informed purchasing decisions, says Daja Apetz-Dreier at Morgan Lewis.
The Art Of Corporate Apologies: Crafting An Effective Strategy

Public relations challenges often stop companies from apologizing amid alleged wrongdoing, but a recent U.K. government consultation seeks to make this easier, highlighting the importance of corporate apologies and measures to help companies balance the benefits against the potential legal ramifications, says Dina Hudson at Byfield Consultancy.
Dissecting Recent Developments Against The Misuse Of NDAs

The U.K. government's recent plans to nullify nondisclosure agreements that prevent victims from reporting crimes should remind lawyers to proactively consider the necessity of such agreements, especially in light of the Solicitors Regulation Authority's warning notice on drafting improper NDAs, say Clare Davis and Macaela Joyes at RPC.