The increasing threat that new market entrants might use technology to win a share of the insurance market has been forcing established insurers to assess the ways in which they might maintain their competitive advantage. These assessments can be difficult and have far-reaching consequences, with some insurers selling businesses to allow their systems to be … 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
Last Friday, the Hong Kong Insurance Authority published its Guideline on Cybersecurity (GL 20) for authorised insurers. GL 20 will take effect on 1 January 2020. Cybersecurity is a global regulatory focus and a top priority area for the Insurance Authority, given the growing exposure to cyber risk as a result of increased digital connectivity. … 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 FCA’s thematic review of with-profits business has found “signs” that a small number of firms are in breach of its rules. Despite this, the FCA is not taking enforcement action against any of those firms. This is presumably because it has determined that, “in most cases” at least, there is no evidence of customer … 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
Following last week’s agreement between the UK and the EU to extend Article 50 until 31 October 2019, the FCA has confirmed that it will also extend the deadline for incoming EEA firms to enter the UK Temporary Permissions Regime (“TPR“) to 30 May 2019. The FCA’s announcement only applies to firms for which the … Read more
