We are pleased to share with you our Insurance & Professional Risks Annual Review of 2022 which provides an overview and analysis of the key cases and developments affecting those engaged in or with contentious matters in the insurance and reinsurance market. Please click the image below to access our 2022 Annual Review. Key Contacts: Paul Lewis Partner +44 20 7466 2138 Alexander Oddy Partner +44 20 7466 2407 Sarah McNally Partner +44 20 7466 2872 William Glassey Partner +44 20 7466 2854 Barnaby Hinnigan Partner +44 20 7466 2816 Fiona Tr ..read more

In Al Mana Lifestyle Trading LLC & Ors v United Fidelity Insurance Company PSC & Ors [2023] EWCA Civ 61 the Court of Appeal considered the jurisdiction of the English court to hear claims brought by the Claimant policyholders against their insurers for indemnities for business interruption losses (BI) arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. In doing so, the court had to consider whether a jurisdiction clause that both parties agreed was “not a model of drafting” was exclusive or not. The Court of Appeal reversed the first instance decision and found that the English court did not have ..read more

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. While the fuel leak gave rise to pollution or contamination, the parties agreed it was not the proximate cause of the damage. The proximate cause was penetration of the fuel pipe by a sharp object. The Court of Appeal overturned the first instance decisio ..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 the case gave rise to an “interesting point“. Ultimately the court found that the broadly drafted contractual prohibition in a sale contract did render ineffective the transfer of subrogation rights to an insurer. BACKGROUND The Claimant agreed to ..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 (re)insurers are under review as part of the Financial Services and Markets Bill. The IRR will sit on top of these arrangements and provide a pre-insolvency set of powers. It will give regulators additional ..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 meeting the Duty. Examine the substantive requirements of the Duty carefully and avoid over-confidence that existing procedures are sufficient – the scope of the Duty is extensive and we have seen that carefu ..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 within the Government’s wider post-Brexit plans for the economy. Solvency II reforms are just one of a series of regulatory changes proposed by the Government in its flagship Financial Services and Markets Bill (FSM Bill). In tandem with the FSM Bill, th ..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 they may be affected. Authorised firms they currently rely on may not apply for gateway permission to approve financial promotions or may be refused permission by the FCA. These firms will need to consider whether they can contin ..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 (ie risks related to changes to the economy in response to climate change) to which insurers are exposed. The CBES report outlined the risks that had been identified, made recommendations for improvements and suggested some areas that needed ..read more

A second edition of our text on class actions in England and Wales, co-authored by Herbert Smith Freehills lawyers, has been published in the UK by Sweet & Maxwell. It has been edited by Damian Grave, Maura McIntosh and Gregg Rowan with an entirely new chapter on insurance co-authored by Greig Anderson and Sarah Irons. Class actions have become an increasingly significant area of law and procedure for our clients, with growing numbers of high-value and high-profile claims being brought by large groups of claimants. Insurance cover may be available to cover the liability and defence costs o ..read more