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Plan To Recast £2.5T Pensions Sector Raises New Risks
The government unveiled a set of reforms Tuesday designed to tap the U.K.'s £2.5 trillion ($3.2 trillion) pension sector for investment in new technology startups — but experts say the shakeup could lead to an uncertain future for millions of workers saving for retirement.
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March 28, 2024
Insurers Must Face £13B Russia-Stranded Planes Suits In UK
Major insurers including Allianz, AXA and Liberty Mutual will have to face £13 billion ($16.4 billion) worth of claims over planes stranded in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine as a London judge on Thursday ruled against attempts to move the claims to Moscow.
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March 28, 2024
Pension Watchdog Returns £3.5M To Troubled Scheme
The U.K.'s pension watchdog has recovered £3.5 million ($4.4 million) from an engineering business for its beleaguered staff benefits plan.
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March 28, 2024
EU Watchdogs To Relax On OTC Derivative Clearing Breaches
The European Union's securities regulator has said it expects national regulators not to prioritize supervisory action against banks or insurers that fail to clear some over-the-counter derivatives with foreign pension schemes, ahead of legal exemption.
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March 28, 2024
NCA Logs 5% Decline In Suspicious Activity Reports Last Year
The National Crime Agency reported Thursday a 5% decline in reports about potential criminal activities such as suspected money laundering and terrorist financing to its intelligence unit received during the financial year that ended March 2023.
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March 28, 2024
UK Watchdog Clears Aviva's £460M Takeover Of AIG Life
The U.K. government on Thursday gave a green light to insurance giant Aviva for its proposed £460 million ($562 million) acquisition of a British subsidiary of AIG Life Ltd. at the end of its first phase of inquiry into the transaction.
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March 28, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen investors target fraudsters who ran a fake film tax scheme, Barclays Bank sue privately owned Russian bank PJSC Sovcombank, easyGroup bring a trademark infringement claim against online casino TGI Entertainment for its "easybet" word sign, and a bioethanol fuel company hit high-profile individuals connected to the collapsed Elysian Fuels scheme. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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March 28, 2024
New Pension General Code Comes Into Force
A tough new governance regime for pension trustees has been introduced, in what experts say is a significant step in driving up standards for the sector.
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March 28, 2024
UK Signs Accounting Standards Deal With Australia
Britain's audit watchdog said Thursday it has secured a deal on accounting standards with Australian authorities to make it easier for auditors to work between both countries.
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March 27, 2024
5th Circ. Reissues Arb. Decision In Hurricane Damage Case
The Fifth Circuit has reissued its opinion allowing a group of domestic insurers to force arbitration of a dispute over coverage for hurricane damage under an international arbitration clause after the insurers argued that the unanimous decision applied circuit precedent in a new context.
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March 27, 2024
Lawyer Group Ends Challenge Over Fixed Recoverable Costs
A legal trade body has ended court proceedings against the U.K. government after it agreed to make changes to a new regime to extend fixed recoverable costs in personal injury cases.
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March 27, 2024
VAT Applies To UK Insurer's Prior Service Pact, Court Rules
Value-added taxes apply to performance fees invoiced to a U.K.-based insurance company by an investment management firm as part of service agreements, a London court said, because those payments occurred outside the duration of the arrangement.
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March 27, 2024
BoE Finds Increasing Fear Of Financial Risk From AI
The Bank of England said on Wednesday the proportion of banks, insurers and other firms that find artificial intelligence one of the greatest risks to the finance system has doubled in six months.
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March 27, 2024
BoE Says Action On LDI Has Boosted Financial Stability
The U.K.'s financial stability watchdog said Wednesday that measures introduced in the wake of the pension fund crisis 18 months ago have bolstered resilience to further shocks.
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March 27, 2024
Shoosmiths, CMS, HSF Guide £510M Pension Deal For Next
High street clothing retailer Next PLC has offloaded £510 million ($643 million) of its retirement scheme liabilities to Pension Insurance Corp. PLC, in a deal steered by law firms Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, Shoosmiths LLP and CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP.
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March 27, 2024
Insurers Undervalue Junked And Stolen Vehicles, FCA Says
British insurers have been undervaluing written-off and stolen vehicles when settling customers' claims, according to a review by the country's financial watchdog published Wednesday.
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March 26, 2024
Gov't Issues Deadlines For Pensions 'Dashboard' Linkage
Large pension schemes in the U.K. must connect their plans to the government's long-awaited Pensions Dashboard Program by the end of April 2025, according to new guidance.
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March 26, 2024
UK Marine Insurer Investigating Baltimore Bridge Crash
Britannia, a British marine insurer, confirmed Tuesday that it is working with authorities in Baltimore after a container ship destroyed the city's landmark Francis Scott Key Bridge in a collision that experts say is likely to cost the insurance sector billions of dollars in claims.
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March 26, 2024
Insurance Execs Deny BDO Found Buyer For £18.5M Sale
Directors of KGJ Insurance Services have denied owing advisory fees to BDO LLP following the sale of the insurance broker for an estimated £18.5 million ($23.4 million), claiming that BDO never proposed or introduced the buyer itself.
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March 26, 2024
EU Watchdog Sets Out Rules For Green Bond Issue Reviewers
The European Union's financial markets regulator on Tuesday proposed rules for external reviewers of green bond issues across the bloc, to help stop greenwashing and conflicts of interest.
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March 26, 2024
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.
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March 26, 2024
Over Regulation Restricted Defined Benefit Pensions, MPs Say
The government should change the focus of the U.K.'s pension watchdog, lawmakers said Tuesday, warning that years of excessive caution on regulation has nearly wiped out the country's remaining defined benefit retirement plans.
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March 26, 2024
FCA Warns 'Finfluencers' To Keep Promotional Ads Lawful
Britain's finance watchdog reminded firms on Tuesday that they are responsible for all of their promotions, especially when working with so-called finfluencers, who offer advice and information on financial topics on social media platforms.
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March 26, 2024
UK Clears £1.2B Atlanta-Markerstudy Insurance Broker Merger
Britain's antitrust authority said Tuesday it has cleared the planned merger between Atlanta Group and Markerstudy, a deal that values Ardonagh's home and car insurance business at £1.2 billion ($1.5 billion), after finding that the deal will not harm competition in domestic markets.
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March 26, 2024
Insurers Lose Whiplash Test Case At Top UK Court
Insurers will probably have to pay more to accident victims suffering whiplash and another injury, after the U.K.'s top court ruled Tuesday that any reductions for overlapping injuries should not leave claimants worse off than before reforms were introduced.
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March 25, 2024
FCA Warns Fund Managers Over Third-Party Supervision
The Financial Conduct Authority said on Monday it has found failings in how some hedge fund managers rely on third parties to help manage the fund, possibly undermining efforts to prevent financial crime.
Editor's Picks
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Litigation Funding Demand Rises As Pandemic Suits Percolate
More corporate clients than ever have pursued third-party litigation funding in England this year, as the COVID-19 pandemic has forced businesses to think more conservatively and try to prioritize the cash on their balance sheets.
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Reforms Abroad For Litigation Funders Raise Questions In UK
Australia's recent decision to introduce a licensing regime for its litigation funders has stirred up attention across the industry, but experts say it appears unlikely that the U.K. will move beyond its current combination of light-touch regulation and court oversight.
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Coronavirus: The Latest EU Court Closures And Restrictions
UPDATED March 22, 2021, 10:35 AM GMT | As courts across the region take measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, some are restricting access and altering their procedures. Here is a roundup of changes.
Expert Analysis
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Insurance Policy Takeaways From UK Lockdown Loss Ruling
An English court's recent decision in Unipolsai v. Covea, determining that insurers' losses from COVID-19 lockdowns were covered by reinsurance, highlights key issues on insurance policy wordings, including how to define a "catastrophe" in the context of the pandemic, says Daniel Healy at Brown Rudnick.
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What COVID Payout Ruling Means For Lockdown Loss Claims
While the High Court's recent COVID-19 payout decision in Gatwick v. Liberty Mutual, holding that pandemic-related regulations trigger prevention of access clauses, will likely lead to insurers accepting more business interruption claims, there are still evidentiary challenges and issues regarding policy limits and furlough, say Josianne El Antoury and Greg Lascelles at Covington.
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Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents
Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.
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Top Court Hire Car Ruling Affects 3rd-Party Negligence Cases
The U.K. Supreme Court's recent decision in Armstead v. Royal & Sun Alliance, finding that an insurer was responsible for lost car rental income after an accident, has significant implications for arguing economic loss and determining burden of proof in third-party negligence cases that trigger contractual liabilities, say lawyers at Macfarlanes.
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Unpacking The Building Safety Act's Industry Overhaul
Recent updates to the Building Safety Act introduce a new principal designer role and longer limitation periods for defects claims, ushering in new compliance challenges for construction industry stakeholders to navigate, as well as a need to affirm that their insurance arrangements provide adequate protection, say Zoe Eastell and Zack Gould-Wilson at RPC.
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A Rare Look At Judicial Interpretation Of LEG Exclusions
A Florida federal court’s order last month in Archer Western-De Moya v. Ace American Insurance and an earlier decision from a D.C. federal court offer insight into how courts may interpret defects exclusion clauses developed by the London Engineering Group — filling a void in case law in the area, says Jonathan Bruce at Holman Fenwick.
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Ruling In FCA Case Offers Tips On Flexible Work Requests
In Wilson v. Financial Conduct Authority, the Employment Tribunal recently found that the regulator's rejection of a remote work request was justified, highlighting for employers factors that affect flexible work request outcomes, while emphasizing that individual inquiries should be considered on the specific facts, say Frances Rollin, Ella Tunnell and Kerry Garcia at Stevens & Bolton.
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Breaking Down The New UK Pension Funding Regs
Recently published U.K. pension regulations, proposing major changes to funding and investing in defined benefit pension schemes, raise implementation considerations for trustees, including the importance of the employer covenant, say Charles Magoffin and Elizabeth Bullock at Freshfields.
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Decoding UK Case Law On Anti-Suit Injunctions
The English High Court's forthcoming decision on an anti-suit injunction filed in Augusta Energy v. Top Oil last month will provide useful guidance on application grounds for practitioners, but, pending that ruling, other recent decisions offer key considerations when making or resisting claims when there is an exclusive jurisdiction clause in the contract, says Abigail Healey at Quillon Law.
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Cayman Islands Off AML Risk Lists, Signaling Robust Controls
As a world-leading jurisdiction for securitization special purpose entities, the removal of the Cayman Islands from increased anti-money laundering monitoring lists is a significant milestone that will benefit new and existing financial services customers conducting business in the territory, say lawyers at Walkers Global.
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How Decision On A Key Definition Affects SMEs
The Financial Conduct Authority's decision not to extend the definition of small and midsized enterprises may benefit banks and finance providers in the current high interest rate environment and where SMEs in certain sectors may be under financial pressure in light of the cost-of-living crisis in order to streamline it, says Rachael Healey at RPC.
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Employers Can 'Waive' Goodbye To Unknown Future Claims
The Scottish Court of Session's recent decision in Bathgate v. Technip Singapore, holding that unknown future claims in a qualifying settlement agreement can be waived, offers employers the possibility of achieving a clean break when terminating employees and provides practitioners with much-needed guidance on how future cases might be dealt with in court, says Natasha Nichols at Farrer & Co.
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Acquisition Of AI Tech Poses Challenges For Media Industry
The artificial intelligence regulatory landscape is changing quickly, and media and entertainment companies planning to acquire AI technology through a merger, acquisition or licensing deal should be mindful of potential new compliance requirements and AI-specific insurance products, say lawyers at Covington.
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3 Financial Services Hot Topics To Watch In 2024
Technology, ESG and private markets are set to have the greatest impact on financial markets in 2024, as firms grapple with increasing regulatory change and a shifting political backdrop on both sides of the Atlantic, says Matthew Allen at Eversheds Sutherland.
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Misleading Airline Ads Offer Lessons To Avoid Greenwashing
Following the Advertising Standards Authority's recent decision that three airlines' adverts misled customers about their environmental impact, companies should ensure that their green claims comply with legal standards to avoid risking reputational damage, which could have financial repercussions, say Elaina Bailes and Olivia Shaw at Stewarts.