The post-war global economic order, built on the belief that economies grow faster through integration rather than isolation, is unravelling.
The UK mutual insurance sector is entering a period of renewed focus. Political support, shifting consumer sentiment and a challenging economic environment will create an opportunity for mutuals to expand their place in the insurance market.
We explore the key challenges organisations face in assessing fair value and outline practical steps financial services firms can take to meet regulatory expectations more effectively.
We outline a high-level approach for firms to consider when seeking assurance that governance, controls, and processes meet the expectations of the FCA’s proposed Motor Finance Redress Scheme.
The UK Bulk Purchase Annuity (BPA) market has experienced sustained growth, with intense competition for new business. This competitive landscape has attracted new entrants and driven innovation, but it has also intensified pressure on pricing, terms, and risk appetite.
As insurers prepare to enter year three of IFRS 17 reporting, now is the time to pause and reflect on the lessons learnt from the first two years of IFRS 17 to further improve disclosure quality in the future.
We look at some less obvious risks and assurance themes to help shape your planning for the year ahead, plus reflections on what stood out last year.
Nearly two years since its implementation, the Consumer Duty continues to attract a mix of praise and criticism.
As climate-related financial risks become more prominent, regulatory expectations and stakeholder demands are pushing firms to integrate climate risk into their risk management frameworks. However, a one-size-fits-all approach is neither practical nor effective.
What are some of the frequently asked questions (FAQ) that insurers might want to consider for IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 implementation?
As climate-related risks continue to reshape the financial landscape, institutions are under increasing pressure to integrate robust climate scenario analysis (CSA) into their risk management and strategic planning frameworks. Firms need to meet regulatory expectations, adopt best-in-class methodologies, and embed climate risk into core decision-making processes.
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) requires firms within the scope of solvent exit planning (SEP) to have a SEP in place by 30 June 2026. This regulation aims to ensure that insurers can exit the market in an orderly manner, protecting policyholders and maintaining financial stability.
The changing landscape of global trade, heavily shaped by US tariff policies, introduces considerable economic uncertainty. While the direct impact of tariffs on insurance may seem minimal, the resulting fluctuations in rates and market conditions are vital for the insurance sector to monitor closely.
Our webinar covers everything you need to consider following the release of the first consulting paper (CP 10/25) for the SS3/19 updates.
In an increasingly complex and fast-paced environment, financial services leaders are focusing their efforts on strategic transformation, operational resilience and workforce readiness. Drawing on insights from executives across more than 35 countries, our latest report reveals how organisations in the sector are adapting to ongoing disruption, balancing risk with innovation and refining their long-term...
The PRA continues to strengthen the market by introducing Solvent Exit, which seeks to reduce/minimise disruption likely to arise from exit of regulated insurers. For firms operating in the insurance sector, this regulatory push brings new expectations - and actuaries are at its core.
With the release of CP10/25, the PRA sets higher expectations for financial services companies’ approaches to managing climate-related risks.
The PRA’s recent CP7/25 proposal will accelerate insurers’ Matching Adjustment (MA) investments and increase investment opportunities. We explore the benefits to insurers and the key considerations in managing the associated risks, processes and regulatory requirements.
Digital transformation, the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the growth of platform-based businesses have elevated cyber risk on insurers' Board agendas. Insurers globally recognise cyber-crime as a key risk.
In the first quarter of 2025, our experts commented on a number of announced regulatory developments. Our quarterly financial services regulatory newsletter is a comprehensive overview of topics relevant to firms that operate in the UK across all financial services sectors.
Confidence among UK financial services business leaders’ readiness for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and their actual plans for effective implementation are mismatched, according to our Performance Pulse survey.
In this interview, Vitalina Kobernik is joined by Roberta Ravelli, technical staff at IFRS Foundation (Technical support, office of ISSB vice chair), to discuss the international sustainability standards issued by ISSB and the progress made by insurers in preparing climate-related disclosures.
The spotlight is now firmly on the 31 March 2025 deadline for firms to ensure compliance to the Operational Resilience regime, a pivotal moment that will test the sector's preparedness to withstand severe operational disruptions.
In December 2024, the PRA published its final policy confirming the rules for solvent exit planning for insurers (PS20/24), coming into force on 30 June 2026. The rules apply to all PRA-regulated insurers except firms in passive run-off, UK branches of overseas insurers and Lloyd’s managing agents.
Fraud continues to be a significant challenge for businesses in the UK, resulting in billions of pounds lost annually to fraudulent activities.
In the past few weeks, the US president has kept financial markets and business leaders on their toes. With a surge of incoming information, analysts and investment managers know that systemic risks are rising, but how best can they navigate these changes?
Supervisory Statement SS3/19 sets out expectations for how UK (re)insurance firms, banks, building societies, and PRA-designated investment firms should manage and disclose financial risks related to climate change.
There have been significant advancements in climate science, risk management practices, disclosure frameworks, and scenario analysis since the latest publication of Supervisory Statement 3/19 [1] (SS3/19). We will review the current SS3/19 content in detail, focusing on governance, scenario analysis, risk management, and disclosure requirements as outlined in the April 2019 SS3/19.
We’ve measured the AI preparedness of over 300 businesses in the UK. Find out the results.
This past week was predictably eventful, and the upcoming week promises to be even more so. The US President continued his reshaping of both the American and global economy, imposing 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada and an additional 10% on China beginning on 1 February, promising that Europe is next.
Looking ahead in 2025, there are obvious challenges to the global trade environment, whilst above-target inflation and the resulting elevated interest rates add further grit to the wheels of the global economy at a time when equity valuations are looking a little expensive. At the same time, acute recessionary and inflationary risks have diminished, meaning we remain essentially neutral in terms of...
Donald Trump officially became President of the United States of America for the second time. In the last few days, we have heard a lot about the new President’s plans: a precipitous hike in tariffs, deregulation in the bank, tech, energy and pharma sectors, reducing corporate taxes, a “cultural revolution”, ending global strife, rewriting global borders, ending illegal immigration… and so much more.
IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements is set to replace IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements and will be effective for the period beginning on 1 Jan 2027 and after. IFRS 18 applies to all entities, including insurance companies.
The Operational Resilience Regime in the UK aims to enhance the ability of financial services firms to withstand and recover from disruptions, ensuring critical services remain available. The goal is to protect consumers, market integrity, and overall financial stability by making firms more resilient.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, our experts commented on a number of announced regulatory developments. Our quarterly financial services S regulatory newsletter is a comprehensive overview of topics relevant to firms that operate in the UK across all financial services sectors.
The plan explains how the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) will deliver its strategic priorities and continue to be an efficient and effective regulator.
On 15 November 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) jointly issued a Call for Input (CFI) on modernising the redress system.
In the economic outlook season, the key theme is policy uncertainty. Change will accelerate, some of it will be good and some of it will be a miss.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves' Autumn Budget contained a sizeable increase in employers' national insurance contributions (NICs). This article examines how this will impact the Financial Services sector's tax cost and compliance requirements.
In the government's first Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced several measures that will impact the UK's Financial Services sector, and we examine here the impact of the policies announced.
In the past few days, markets have been cheering at the prospect of deregulation, especially in the banking sector. The US election has become a catalyst for many government officials, across both sides of the Atlantic, to come out and advocate for deregulation. While upping economic and financial risk, it could be the key to unlocking economic growth in the years to come.
The global economy is entering a more synchronized part of the cycle, but economies diverge.
Climate-related disclosures are now mandatory for many insurers, with this comes the requirement to produce high-quality reports.
The business models of some UK insurers result in elevated exposure to liquidity risk. Despite this, management of liquidity risk does not receive as much attention or investment as capital and other risks.
In the third quarter of 2024, our experts commented on a number of announced regulatory developments. Our quarterly FS regulatory newsletter is a comprehensive overview of topics relevant to firms that operate in the UK across all Financial Services sectors.
Our aim with this article is not to detail all the areas which insurance firms will need to consider, or even the areas of greatest risk which will no doubt have already been considered and incorporated into plans and strategies, but rather to identify some areas or perspectives which internal audit functions may not yet have considered in their risk assessments.
When employees of overseas branches of UK insurance companies makes business trips to work in the UK, or otherwise host STBVs, in the first instance PAYE income tax should be applied to 100% of their earnings in real time.
The PRA’s recently published SS5/24 seeks to address concerns around the use of Funded Reinsurance (“Funded Re”) in the rapidly growing bulk purchase annuity (BPA) market, setting high expectations for the management of reinsurance counterparty risk. Firms are expected to perform gap assessments against the supervisory statement, set out remediation actions and provide other requested information...
Climate-related disclosures have moved from voluntary to mandatory and the bar for both minimum and best practice is rising.
The role of artificial intelligence (AI) in financial services continues to exercise C-suite minds. Not least, how to balance AI’s benefits to enhance the customer experience and improve back-office operations with the ethical challenges that AI presents.
As financial services organisations increasingly focus on digital transformation, having the right expertise and skillsets is critical. However, it’s not simply a question of human capital. It requires developing a talent strategy that recognises the profound impact technology will have across the organisation.
The financial services sector is increasingly looking to technology to help tackle the rising levels of regulation they face.
Financial services organisations see digital transformation as a top priority. While the competitive landscape has been evolving following the arrival of digital-first challenger banks and fintech players, emerging technology and rising mobile service demands from tech-savvy consumers are now pushing traditional players to innovate, rethink business models and how to accelerate and scale their technology...
Optimism in the financial services sector is riding high. So why is the financial services sector so confident and what needs to happen to ensure growth aspirations remain on track?
Both the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) have highlighted Diversity and inclusion (D&I) as critical to their work on culture and governance. Benefits from D&I in the workplace include positive outcomes in risk management, good conduct, healthy working cultures and innovation.
The insurance industry, often perceived as a bastion of tradition, is undergoing a seismic shift. Diversity, Equality and Inclusion are no longer buzzwords. It doesn’t matter which business function you work in, it is a business imperative. So, what does tangible progress actually look like?
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) live streamed an event on Wednesday 31 July, focusing on the impact of the Consumer Duty in its first year.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its 2024/25 Business Plan on 19 March, setting out how it will deliver the final year of its three-year strategy. To fulfil the FCA’s objectives [1], the strategy seeks to reduce and prevent serious harm, set and test higher standards and promote competition and positive change.
The FCA recently published a multi-firm review of outcomes monitoring under the Consumer Duty. While the review was carried out across 20 firms in the insurance sector, the findings are relevant across all sectors.
In this article, we highlight regulatory developments in Q2 2024 for insurance covering Appointed Representative (AR) oversight, Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) sales, motor total loss claims, Consumer Duty updates, a post-implementation review of travel insurance signposting rules and Solvency II Matching Adjustment (MA) reforms.
On 5 April 2023, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published the 2023/24 Business Plan which sets out how the regulator will deliver the second year of its three-year strategy. We highlight the key areas of focus from the Business Plan below.
In this article, we highlight regulatory developments in Q4 2023 within insurance covering the Insurance Distribution Directive, Solvency II, third country branches, fair value, and appointed representatives (ARs).
UK regulators published a wealth of materials for insurers in the third quarter of 2023.
The UK hosts the fourth largest insurance market in the world, and the largest in Europe, with a total premium volume of just under $283 billion[1] recorded in 2017.
The agreement to pause sales of Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) insurance for 80% of the market was a big headline in February. It may have come as a shock to some but the FCA’s concerns with GAP insurance are nothing new, dating back to its 2014 Market Study. The FCA pointed to its 2022 value measures data and had given GAP firms a stark warning in September 2023 over fair value.
The FCA introduced the anti-greenwashing rule (AGR), which comes into effect on 31 May 2024, as part of its supervisory kit to create a common understanding of the sustainability characteristics of products and services.
In July 2023, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) made changes to its handbook [1] to embed guidance on good outcomes for customers experiencing financial difficulties. This sits in ICOBS 2.7 and, whilst claims handling is not specifically mentioned, it is relevant to how you support your customers at the point of claim.
In January 2023, HM Treasury published its consultation paper setting out proposals for the introduction of an Insurance Resolution Regime (IRR) for the UK insurance sector.
On 29 September 2022, the FCA acknowledged the continued challenges faced by consumers and businesses alike from the rising cost of living. The latest Dear CEO letter acknowledged the recent Government measures but noted the continuing financial challenges faced, including higher costs (such as energy costs) and staffing issues.
On Friday 8 April 2022, the FCA released its 2022/23 Business Plan in line with its usual timings. The scene is set with Covid-19 continuing to provide uncertainty, rising costs (due to inflation, interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty) and the risk of serious financial problems for many people.
On Wednesday 20 July 2022, the government released draft legislation for the Finance Bill for 2022 and the results of consultations. We were expecting more draft legislation but there are some HMRC recommendations that cannot currently be signed off by ministers until we have a more stable government.
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