In Brian Leighton (Garages) Limited v Allianz Insurance Plc [2023] EWHC 1150 Civ 8 the Court of Appeal construed the wording of a pollution exclusion and determined that it applied narrowly and only where pollution (or contamination) was the proximate cause of the damage. The case concerned a fuel leak which contaminated the insured property. … Read more

In Dassault Aviation SA v Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co Ltd [2022] EWHC 3287 (Comm) the court considered whether a contractual prohibition on assignment of a contract encompassed a transfer of subrogation rights to an insurer by operation of Japanese insurance law. The judge reached her conclusions with “an unusual degree of hesitation” and noted that … Read more

HM Treasury unveiled yesterday its long awaited consultation paper for a new Insurer Resolution Regime (“IRR“) with the consultation set to run until 20 April 2023. The management of UK (re)insurers in financial difficulty is currently handled through a mixture of standard corporate and (re)insurer-specific insolvency arrangements. Proposals to amend the existing insolvency arrangements for … Read more

The FCA’s review of firms’ progress on implementing the Consumer Duty contains some important guidance for firms to follow in the lead up to 31 July 2023. Key areas to focus on Effective prioritisation – firms need to prioritise appropriately, focussing on reducing the risk of poor consumer outcomes and assessing areas where firms are furthest away from … Read more

2022 proved to be as busy for insurance firms and regulators as we predicted last January. Yet more change can be expected in 2023. In Brexit-related news, the Treasury is taking forward plans to change the UK’s Solvency II regime. Its announcement coincided with the Autumn statement, signifying the importance attributed to Solvency II reforms … Read more

The FCA has set out its plans to operate a new gateway for the approval of financial promotions (CP22/27). Who could be affected? Firms which approve financial promotions for unauthorised firms should review and consider these proposals carefully. Unauthorised firms which currently rely on authorised firms to approve their financial promotions should also consider how … Read more

A version of this article was first published on Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence. The Treasury’s plans to reform Solvency II have entered their next phase after it published the results of its April 2022 consultation. This coincided with its Autumn statement, signifying the importance attributed to Solvency II reforms within the Government’s wider plans to … Read more

The Bank of England’s (BoE) first Climate Biennial Exploratory Scenario 2021 (CBES) explored climate change driven financial risks posed to the largest insurers and banks operating in the UK. This article focuses on the CBES’s findings in respect of the physical risks (ie risks related to physical damage resulting from climate change) and transition risks … Read more