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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.
April 24, 2024
Klarna Trims Down Basque Bank's European Logo TM

Buy-now, pay-later giant Klarna has won its fight to restrict trademark registration for a Spanish bank's logo, blocking protection in a myriad of categories ranging from laundry detergent to musical instruments.
April 24, 2024
Regulator Says Half Of Retirement Plans Ready For Buyout

Half of the 5,000-plus defined benefit pension schemes in Britain are expected to have exceeded their estimated buyout funding levels, the Pensions Regulator said Wednesday, giving trustees and employers a chance to reassess their long-term objectives.
April 24, 2024
Network Rail Rejected Pension Expert Due To Age Bias

An employment tribunal has ruled that Network Rail discriminated against an applicant to the pensions team because he was in his mid-50s, saying that the manager processing submissions barely glanced at his curriculum vitae.
April 24, 2024
Osborne Clarke Guides Canada Life's £46M Lexmark Deal

Insurer Canada Life has agreed to a £46 million ($57 million) buy-in with the pension scheme of printing business Lexmark Holdings Inc. in a transaction guided by Osborne Clarke LLP.
April 24, 2024
PRA Asks Banks To Review Private Equity Exposure

The Prudential Regulation Authority asked banks to review and assess their current practices to ensure they align with the regulator's expectations for effective risk management concerning private equity-linked credit and counterparty exposures.
April 24, 2024
AXA, Zurich Deny Liability In £26M Bakery Fire Claim

A group of six insurers has denied that it unlawfully refused to pay out at least £26 million ($32 million) to cover damage and losses caused by a blaze at a bakery, saying the food business did not comply sufficiently with fire procedures to justify a payout.
April 23, 2024
Tax Experts Want Cut To Healthcare Insurance Levy

Tax experts on Tuesday urged the U.K. government to partially suspend a levy on healthcare insurance products, after it revealed record premium tax revenue of £8.1 billion ($10.1 billion) last year.
April 23, 2024
UK Rules Sri Lanka Ship Insurance Row Must Be In London

A U.K. judge ruled Tuesday that a Sri Lankan shipping company cannot sue a London-based insurer in its home country over liability for a sunken container ship because the insurance contract is governed by English law.
April 23, 2024
COVID-19 Has Disrupted Pension Life Expectancy Models

Pension schemes have faced significant disruption to the way they calculate life-expectancy of their members as a result of the pandemic, a consultancy warned Tuesday.
April 23, 2024
FCA Clarifies Greenwashing Rule, Extends ESG regime

The Financial Conduct Authority has published clarifying final guidance on its anti-greenwashing rule for all regulated firms, saying on Tuesday that it will also extend its broader sustainability regime to include portfolio managers.
April 23, 2024
15 Pension Mega-Deals Forecast In Coming Months

The U.K. pension deals market is set for another record year, with around 15 mega transactions worth up to £30 billion ($37 billion) expected to go ahead in the next few months, a retirement savings consultancy said Tuesday.
April 22, 2024
Trader Behind £1.4B Tax Fraud Thought Trades Were Valid

A British trader accused of being the mastermind of a fraudulent trading scheme that cost Denmark's tax authority £1.4 billion ($1.7 billion) genuinely believed that the trades worked, his lawyer told a London court on Monday.
April 22, 2024
Complaints Of Closed Bank Accounts To Ombudsman Surge

Customer complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service about closure of or refusal to open bank accounts have risen sharply in the last year, particularly from businesses, according to figures recently released by a select group of members of Parliament.
April 22, 2024
Aviva Paid Over £413M In Group Protection Claims In 2023

Aviva paid out more than £413.7 million ($509.6 million) in group protection claims to employees and their dependents in 2023, up from £373.9 million in 2022, according to a company report published Monday.
April 22, 2024
FCA To Consider Big Tech Data-Sharing With Finance Firms

The Financial Conduct Authority said on Monday it will examine how Big Tech's access to data could be valuable to firms in the finance sector if it reveals consumers' preferences, and will consider setting out incentives to encourage information-sharing.
April 22, 2024
FCA Defends Response To British Steel Pension Scandal

The Financial Conduct Authority on Monday said it took "appropriate regulatory action" amid complaints over its handling of the British Steel Pension Scheme transfer scandal and would not uphold any of the grievances it has received over its approach.
April 22, 2024
Pension Lifeboat Says Gov't Plans Could Create £10B Finance

The pensions compensation fund said that plans to give it a new role as a consolidator of smaller retirement schemes could result in an additional £10 billion being plowed into U.K. growth assets.
April 22, 2024
FCA Urged To Halt Plan To Publicize Enforcement Probes

The Financial Conduct Authority's plan to name the firms it probes and publish information about investigations at an earlier stage risks an unjustified departure from the "fundamental principle" of being innocent until proven guilty, a House of Lords committee warned in a letter published Monday.
April 19, 2024
Insurers Push To Arbitrate Hurricane Damage Case

An arbitrator should decide whether a Louisiana property owner's hurricane damage claims must be arbitrated, a group of surplus lines insurers argued in urging the Second Circuit to reject a New York district court's reliance on the circuit's precedent to find the arbitration clause at issue unenforceable.
April 19, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen U.K. holiday resort chain Butlins target Aviva and a huddle of insurers, Meta and WhatsApp tackle a patents claim by telecommunications company Semitel, an ongoing construction dispute between Essex County Council and Balfour Beatty, and Formycon AG hit a pharmaceutical company for infringing medical products. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
April 19, 2024
Car Insurance Still 'Historically High' Despite Price Dip

British motorists are still paying "historically high prices" for car insurance despite the cost of cover falling by 5% on average during the first quarter of 2024, broker WTW has said.
April 19, 2024
Gov't Urged To Drop Plans For Small UK Pension Pots

The government must abandon its controversial plans to tackle the proliferation of small pension pots and instead revisit a solution that was passed into law a decade ago, a consultancy said Friday.
April 19, 2024
EU Firms Say Strict ESG Rules Risk Chasing Off Clients

Large banks have warned the European Union's banking regulator that its proposed guidelines for managing sustainability risks are too demanding and could drive clients away to banks outside the bloc.
April 18, 2024
Insurers Face Appeal Over Refusal To Cover Bribery Loss

A holding company took its fight for an insurance payout to the Court of Appeal on Thursday, urging justices to force its insurers to cover its claim for losses it sustained when its acquisition of a construction contractor went south due to bribery and corruption allegations.
April 18, 2024
City Pushes For UK Regulators To Be Globally Competitive

A body representing U.K. financial services called Thursday for a new post-Brexit international framework to compare regulators' performance and their impact on competitiveness.

Editor's Picks

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.
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.
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

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.
What To Know About The Russia-Stranded Plane Ruling

The High Court's recent decision in Zephyrus Capital Aviation v. Fidelis Underwriting, rejecting reinsurers' U.K. jurisdiction challenges in claims over stranded planes in Russia, has broad implications for cross-border litigation involving exclusive jurisdiction clauses, says Samantha Zaozirny at Browne Jacobson.
3 Notable Pensions Reforms In Spring Budget

The U.K. government’s spring budget introduced reforms to improve pension outcomes through the value for money framework and the lifetime provider model, as well as to encourage investments in Britain — three interlinked areas that could pressure trustees and providers to rethink how they approach investments, say Liz Ramsaran and Marcus Fink at DWF.
UK Arbitration Ruling Offers Tips On Quelling Bias Concerns

An English court's recent decision in H1 v. W to remove an arbitrator because of impartiality concerns offers several lessons on mitigating bias, including striking a balance between arbitration experience and knowledge of a particular industry, and highlights the importance of careful arbitrator appointment, says Paul-Raphael Shehadeh at Duane Morris.
Bias Ruling Offers Guidance On Disqualifying Arbitrators

An English court's recent decision in H1 v. W, removing an arbitrator due to bias concerns, reaffirms practical considerations when assessing an arbitrator's impartiality, and highlights how ill-chosen language by an arbitrator can clear the high bar for disqualification, say Andrew Connelly and Ian Meredith at K&L Gates.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.