The new statutory regime for the regulation of insurance intermediaries in Hong Kong takes effect today. This represents the final stage of implementation of the reforms which established the Insurance Authority (IA) as Hong Kong’s independent insurance regulator. The IA assumed the regulatory responsibilities of the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance in June 2017 and has taken over the regulation of insurance intermediaries (agents and brokers) from  three self-regulatory organisations (SROs) from today. Requirements relating to the intermediary management function, one of the control functions of an authorised insurer, have also come into effect. The IA will be responsible for all aspects of regulation of insurance intermediaries, including issuing rules, codes and guidelines, approving licences, monitoring compliance, conducting inspections and investigations, and imposing disciplinary sanctions where breaches have occurred. Read more

The outcome of the June 2016 UK referendum on EU membership ushered in a period of increasing political turmoil in the UK. When I wrote an introduction to the first edition of this legal guide my colleagues and I had a clear view that leaving the EU would take far longer and be far more complex than most other commentators were saying, but I did not anticipate then that over three years later we would have so little clarity on the UK and EU’s long term relationship with each other.  Nor that polarisation of views on all sides would have increased still further, leading to political deadlock. This updated Brexit Legal Guide addresses the legal position if the UK leaves the EU with or without a deal and picks out the key pieces of legislation that will soon be in force if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.  I hope you will find it useful. Read more

In an important recent decision, the Court of Appeal has confirmed the test for rectifying a contractual document on the grounds of common mistake: FSHC Group Holdings Ltd v GLAS Trust Corporation Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 1361. In summary, the Court confirmed that to establish a claim for rectification, a party must prove that the … Read more

The FCA, Bank of England (“BoE”) and PRA yesterday announced measures to extend certain UK-specific Brexit transitional relief provisions for a further six months until 31 December 2020, in line with the extension of Exit Day until 31 October. This is generally in line with industry expectations and does not signal any material changes to … Read more

The UK’s data protection authority, the ICO, has announced twice in two days this week that it proposes to levy significant fines on organisations for breaches of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which took effect in May 2018. First it announced that it intends to fine British Airways some £183 million for a data … Read more

New technologies, such as artificial intelligence (“AI”) and distributed ledger technology (“DLT”), continue to have a significant impact on the way in which firms, customers and regulators interact.  Firms introducing innovative business models whose products or services fall under the jurisdiction of different sectoral regulators can find themselves having to address competing regulatory expectations. As … Read more

The post below was first published on our Litigation blog. As we have previously noted, there is some uncertainty over whether, following a “no-deal” Brexit, EU27 countries will apply the 2005 Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements where an exclusive English jurisdiction clause was agreed before exit day. This is sometimes referred to as … Read more

In line with its continuing focus on fairness in pricing and customer value, the FCA has published a thematic review on the general insurance distribution chain (TR19/2). The review contains a clear warning to firms involved in the design and sale of general insurance products that they must do more to protect customers from harm. … Read more