Insurance UK

4 Things To Watch As UK Releases Budget

The U.K.'s Labour government is set to release an autumn budget Wednesday that faces a test of balancing a pledge not to raise working people's taxes with an expected need to boost revenue to meet fiscal rules. Here are four things to watch for as the budget is issued.

'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.

December 02, 2025
Helvetia, Baloise Cleared To Form 2nd-Largest Swiss Insurer

Swiss insurers Helvetia and Baloise have said that they have won the final approval for their planned merger, confirming that the deal to create the second-largest insurance group in Switzerland will close on Dec. 5.
December 02, 2025
Hogan Lovells Steers Royal London In £55M Annuity Purchase

Insurer Royal London said Tuesday that it has covered £55 million ($73 million) of pension liabilities for a shipping insurance company, in a deal guided by Hogan Lovells and Wedlake Bell.
December 02, 2025
FCA Censures Bookkeepers' Body For AML Oversight Failings

The Financial Conduct Authority said Tuesday it has censured the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers for serious deficiencies in its anti-money-laundering supervision, its first enforcement action against a professional body supervisor.
December 02, 2025
TPT Picks Gowling, LCP To Advise Pension Superfund

TPT named the four firms that will advise its new defined benefit superfund on Tuesday, as the pension plan operator moves toward regulatory assessment.
December 02, 2025
Gallagher Buys UK Pensions Admin Co. First Actuarial

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. said Tuesday it has bought pensions company First Actuarial, as the U.S. company seeks to expand its services in the U.K.
December 02, 2025
AXA Raises $340M For Infrastructure Development Fund

Insurer AXA has said that it has raised $340 million in the first round of funding for the Infrastructure Resilience Development Fund, which it launched in collaboration with Insurance Development Forum, a public-private industry partnership body.
December 01, 2025
Capita Faces Legal Action Over 2023 Data Breach Failures

Capita faces a London claim on behalf of as many as 6.6 million people over the distress and financial loss caused by a 2023 cyberattack on the outsourcing giant that exposed their personal data.
December 01, 2025
AmTrust Fights Sompo For £59M At Trial Over Legal Funding

AmTrust argued on the first day of trial on Monday that the insurer of two defunct law firms is liable to pay it £59 million ($78 million), in the latest development in the battle of who should cover the costs of a failed litigation-funding scheme.
December 01, 2025
Investment Firms End $3.4B Pursuit Of Australian Insurer AUB

AUB Group Ltd. said Monday that talks with investment firms EQT AB and CVC Asia Pacific Ltd. have ended after the consortium said it would not proceed with a takeover of AUB worth AU$5.24 billion ($3.44 billion).
December 01, 2025
Eversheds Leads Fertilizer Biz On £265M Pension Deals

Savings and investment group M&G PLC said Monday that the U.K. arm of global ammonia manufacturing giant CF Industries has completed two bulk purchase annuities worth a combined £265 million ($350 million).
December 01, 2025
FCA Proposes ESG Ratings Regime To Boost Transparency

The Financial Conduct Authority proposed a regulatory regime for ESG ratings on Monday, a move to improve transparency and handling of conflicts of interest, which would support government ambitions for the U.K. to become a sustainable finance global hub.
December 01, 2025
Partners& Enters Lloyd's Market With Broker Buy

Partners& Ltd. has bought a Lloyd's broker that focuses on property insurance, marking what it called the first step in building its broking business in the specialist marketplace.
November 28, 2025
Union Deal Secures Rights For Civil Service Pension Workers

The Public and Commercial Services Union said on Friday that the company taking over the administration of the civil service pension program has agreed to officially recognize the union, after months of industrial unrest linked to the plan.
November 28, 2025
ECJ Allows Portugal's Tax Checks On Foreign Pension Funds

Portugal could impose stricter requirements on non-resident pension funds that claim a tax exemption when proportionate, despite the European Union's rules on freedom of movement for capital, the bloc's top court has ruled.
November 28, 2025
UK Still Mulling Tax Regime For Pension Surplus Release

The government has said it is still considering the tax regime for one-off payments to pension plan members under its controversial surplus release reforms.
November 28, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen the National Crime Agency target an Azerbaijan politician and a subsidiary of Withers over a disputed £50 million ($66 million) property portfolio, the eldest son of a British aristocratic family challenge the trustees of their multimillion-pound estate, and a sports lawyer suspected of dishonesty face action by the Solicitors Regulation Authority following his firm's closure.
November 28, 2025
Lawmakers To Probe UK Gov't Financial Inclusion Strategy

Lawmakers on the influential Treasury Committee unveiled a new investigation into the government's financial inclusion strategy on Friday, cautioning against treating Prime Minister Keir Starmer's plan as a "box-ticking exercise."
November 28, 2025
Orrick Hires 4 Corporate Lawyers From Norton Rose In Munich

Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP has hired a group of four lawyers from Norton Rose Fulbright in Germany to boost its services to clients in mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions.
November 27, 2025
Payment Providers Face Liability Under New EU Fraud Rules

The council and parliament of the European Union agreed on Thursday that payment service providers will be held liable if they do not use modern and improved methods for preventing the sector from facilitating fraud.
November 27, 2025
Pension Reforms Bill Set For December Report Stage

The U.K. government has confirmed lawmakers will scrutinize proposed changes to its flagship pension plan legislation on Dec. 3.
November 27, 2025
UK Insurers Push For Clearer Sustainability Guidelines

Insurance companies warned Britain's regulators to revamp the Solvency UK regime and provide explicit regulatory guidance on climate and nature if they are to invest substantially more in sustainable assets, in a report published Thursday.
November 27, 2025
UK Budget Will Cause 'Poorer Retirements,' Insurers Warn

The government risks pushing millions of people into poorer retirements through its plan to cap salary sacrifice arrangements, an insurance trade body has warned.
November 27, 2025
Insolvency Service Gets Extra £25M To Tackle Rogue Directors

The Insolvency Service has described its additional £25 million ($33 million) in government funding over the next five years as a welcome boost to its bid to weed out rogue directors in Britain.
November 26, 2025
Business Platform Launches Insurance Service With Admiral

A British business management platform has said it will start offering insurance to its members through a partnership launched with Admiral Business, in a bid to help close the protection gap among smaller organizations.
November 26, 2025
Gov't To Boost Pensions For UK Retirees Hit By Inflation

The U.K. government said Wednesday it plans to increase benefits for retirees who have seen their pensions eroded over the years by inflation.

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

EBA Proposals Signal Overhaul Of EU 3rd-Party Risk Rules

The European Banking Authority’s plans to extend third-party risk controls to non-ICT services, which may be finalized by the end of the year, will place a significant compliance and operational burden on in-scope entities, which should not be underestimated, say lawyers at Travers Smith.
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.