Regulation

The Financial Conduct Authority's guidance on vertically integrated general insurance business models says firms combining underwriting, distribution and related services must identify, prevent or manage conflicts of interest, be able to evidence their controls on request, make clear and fair disclosures and keep group structures simple enough to supervise.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority's multifirm review of frontier AI and cyber resilience, summarised by law firms in September and October 2026, reports five themes drawn from what firms said, led by the finding that vulnerability discovery is outpacing firms' ability to respond, and states that it creates no new rules or expectations.

From January 1, 2027, British Columbia businesses that sell insurance incidentally, including all motor vehicle dealers, need a Restricted Insurance Agency licence from the Insurance Council of BC, with a C$1,000 application fee, a trained designated representative, accredited training for sellers and a March 31, 2027 application deadline for those using earlier exemptions.

ASIC has filed civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against David Anderson and Simon Selimaj of Falcon Capital over the First Guardian fund, alleging that more than 6,000 investors put in over A$600 million, mostly from superannuation, while the collapse pushes the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort's FY2027 estimate to A$198.1 million; none of the allegations has been proven.

The Financial Conduct Authority's consultation CP26/33, which closed on 9 October 2026, proposes removing two reporting requirements from its general insurance value measures rules after a post-implementation review found the rules improved transparency but produced inconsistent data, with a wider consultation expected in the first half of 2027.

Phase 1 of Ontario regulator FSRA's review of insurer and MGA relationships found that 66% of 50 sampled life agents did not complete needs and suitability assessments, 74% gave no policy illustrations and 53% gave incomplete disclosures, and that insurers reviewed 0% to 4% of their active agents.

The first report of France's Observatoire de l'assurabilité, delivered in June 2026, found that every commune has at least one insurer for single-family homes and 97.7% of mainland communes are normal, but 811 show light or moderate tension, prompting a government plan to adapt the Cat Nat system.

Japan's economic-value-based solvency regime, aligned with the IAIS Insurance Capital Standard, took effect for the year ended March 2026 with a 100% minimum; Fitch says major insurers clear it comfortably, with Nippon Life at 195% consolidated and Daiichi Life at about 220%.

The Central Bank of the UAE replaced its 2022 takaful rules with a regulation effective September 14, 2026 that requires each operator to run a legally separate takaful fund, use a wakala-based model at all times and, for conventional insurers with Islamic windows, obtain approval and keep separate accounts and sharia governance.

The Insurance Council of Australia puts annual regulatory compliance costs at A$2.5 billion to A$3.5 billion, 4% to 6% of gross written premium, and APRA said on September 24, 2026 that its 2026-27 measures aim for a broadly net neutral burden, with new reinsurance standards starting January 1, 2027.

IRDAI barred Edelweiss Life, Pramerica Life, ACKO General and Niva Bupa Health from opening new places of business for six months over FY25 expense-of-management breaches, with 23 insurers exceeding limits, while its consultation on distribution costs drew more than 650 submissions and had its deadline extended to October 31, 2026.

OSFI letters dated October 22, 2026 confirm that Q4 2026 returns for federally regulated property and casualty and mortgage insurers are unchanged, that updated IFRS 18 returns start in Q1 2027 for December year-end companies and November 1, 2027 for October year-end companies, and that the final 2027 MICAT guideline lowers the base risk weight for low-rise multi-unit construction from 150% to 130% from January 1, 2027.

The Insurance Council of Australia has submitted a revised General Insurance Code of Practice to ASIC that would write its obligations into consumer contracts and automatically accept home and motor property claims left undecided for 12 months, while AFCA's 2025-26 review recorded 36,022 general insurance complaints, up 5%, with claim delays up 25% to 8,246.

The Central Bank of the UAE's Insurance Company Licensing Regulation (Circular 4/2026), in force from August 14, 2026, replaces the 2009 Insurance Authority rules, treats foreign insurers as branch applicants only, sets 60-business-day application and decision windows and lets the regulator remove senior managers and board members.

IRDAI's public consultation paper proposes cutting life insurers' expense-of-management limit to 15% of gross direct premium within two years and 12.5% within five, replacing the distributor landscape with three categories, and adding claw-backs for mis-selling, with comments due on October 25, 2026 and reports that the regulator may extend the window.

A 'power event' in Google Cloud's europe-west2 London region caused an hours-long outage on October 20, 2026 that affected Revolut card payments and ATM withdrawals and was reported by Lloyds and HSBC customers; the FCA said it is working with Google and affected firms.

On July 7, 2026 APRA finalised amendments to its general insurance reinsurance framework, effective January 1, 2027, making alternative reinsurance arrangements easier to access and reducing approval requirements, with updated reporting forms due in the test environment in September 2026.

At its 137th meeting on July 28, 2026, chaired by Ajay Seth, IRDAI approved seven regulations aligning the rulebook with the Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha Act, 2025, including the Policyholders' Education and Protection Fund Regulations and stricter intermediary rules aimed at curbing mis-selling.

In a letter dated September 30, 2026, ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland told insurer boards it will review for-profit claims management firms, found that no sampled motor insurer explained why premiums changed, and said at least 63% of finalised Cyclone Jasper home claims included a cash settlement.

Canada's banking and insurance supervisor said its final Capital Adequacy Requirements guideline takes effect November 1, 2026, its mortgage insurer capital test (MICAT 2027) on January 1, 2027, and that insurance regulatory returns are being updated for IFRS 18, with the first final returns due January 1, 2027.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore opened a consultation on September 30 that would require prior approval for nominating committee chairs at locally incorporated banks and insurers, raise minimum board sizes and tighten the definition of an independent director.

Japan's Financial Services Agency ordered Prudential of Japan to stop soliciting new business from October 13 to January 31, 2027, and Gibraltar Life to suspend its employed sales channels, after misconduct by more than 100 employees.

SEBI chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on October 15 that the market regulator has written to the insurance regulator, as it also works on adding bank deposit information to the statement investors receive from depositories.

The Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority wants bank, insurer and credit union thresholds to rise with the economy on a five-year cycle, ending ad hoc updates; responses are due by February 7.

India's insurance regulator has proposed product-level commission ceilings and lower expense-of-management limits, a draft that could reshape how banks, brokers and agents sell policies; feedback closes October 25.

Australia's corporate regulator has set its 2026-27 general insurance priorities, finding that no sampled motor insurer explained premium changes and that at least 63% of finalised Cyclone Jasper claims included cash settlements.

Australia's prudential regulator proposed in July to amend ten prudential standards, fifteen reporting standards and two practice guides, with submissions closed on August 21, finalisation expected in November and most changes starting January 1, 2027.

The one-year grace period under Federal Decree-Law No. 6 of 2025 closed on September 16, and a law-firm newsletter reports the central bank granted no blanket extension; fines can reach AED 1 billion.

The PRA and FCA want a tailored regime for single-parent captives with 4-to-6-week authorisation and lighter rules; no captive insurers are currently established in the UK.

The Financial Conduct Authority's £2 million campaign, running from July 27 to September 6, 2026 across TV, radio, print, billboards and social media, tells motor finance customers they can complain for free, citing research that 27% lack the confidence to complain without a claims firm or law firm.

On July 14, 2026 the FCA published proposals it says could save UK asset managers £128 million a year, through three consultations: fund reporting (FRAME, CP26/26, due September 22), the UK AIFM regime (CP26/28, due October 14) and solo remuneration rules (CP26/27, due September 16).

ASIC secured $830 million in court-ordered civil penalties and $644 million in consumer remediation in 2025-26, against $104.1 million in penalties the year before; insurance-related actions include the $23.5 million Cbus trustee penalty over claims delays and cases against Hollard and RACQ Insurance, and insurance complaints and claims handling remain a 2026 priority.

The FDIC announced on July 17, 2026 proposed weekly (PS-01, PS-01a) and quarterly (PS-02) reporting forms for FDIC-supervised permitted payment stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act, covering reserve assets, issuance and redemptions, with comments due September 18 and an estimated burden of 3,840 hours a year across about 30 institutions.

Business Today reported on July 9, 2026, citing unnamed sources, that India's insurance regulator is considering paying distributors commissions over a policy's term instead of mostly upfront, with product-wise caps and tighter disclosure, and that its chairman Ajay Seth said a consultation paper on distribution reforms was expected by the end of July; no percentages or schedule were given.

HM Treasury designated four global cloud and technology providers as critical third parties on July 10, 2026, effective July 13, so the Bank of England, PRA and FCA can apply operational resilience rules to the critical services they supply to UK financial firms, with firms' third-party registers due from March 18, 2027.

Published on July 6, 2026, the FCA's Mills Review, led by executive director Sheldon Mills, concludes that financial services are moving toward AI-enabled, continuous and delegated models, proposes no new rules, and makes seven recommendations including adapting the regulatory perimeter and building an AI-enabled supervisory model.

The FCA's Annual Report and Accounts 2025/26, published July 9, 2026, describes a nine-regulator finfluencer week of action that produced 3 arrests, 6 criminal proceedings, 11 warning letters, 50 warning list alerts and 650 social media takedown requests, alongside 17 criminal convictions, £1.77 million of market abuse fines and 2,329 scam warnings.

The Reserve Bank of India's draft Guidance on Regulatory Principles for Model Risk Management, 2026, described in a June 24, 2026 consultancy analysis, would require a board-approved framework covering AI and machine-learning models, independent validation even of vendor models, explainability controls, disclosures and human switches for customer-facing AI, and human-oversight and kill-switch mechanisms.

The G7 Central Bank Quantum Technologies Working Group, co-chaired by the Banque de France and the Bank of Canada, published its first report on June 11, 2026, setting out quantum risks to cryptography and possible uses in finance, with Governor Tiff Macklem saying the window to being quantum-ready is narrowing.

The Financial Conduct Authority published the Mills Review on July 6, 2026, an independent review led by Sheldon Mills of how AI could reshape retail financial services by 2030 and beyond; it identifies four systemic shifts, judges the current outcomes-based regime broadly fit for purpose and makes seven priority recommendations.

On July 7, 2026 the Federal Reserve Board asked for public comment on a proposal to amend Regulation H so that banks it supervises run risk-based anti-money-laundering and countering-the-financing-of-terrorism programs that incorporate FinCEN priorities, with enforcement generally reserved for significant or systemic implementation failures and comments due September 8, 2026.

In opening remarks on July 7, 2026, Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman presented the Financial Stability Board's consultation report on sound practices for responsible AI adoption, saying governance should scale with materiality, lower-risk uses deserve a lighter supervisory touch, smaller institutions need proportionate guidance and a final report goes to the G20 later in 2026.

On July 7, 2026 the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority finalised amendments to its general insurance reinsurance framework: a reinstatement is not required where one is typically unavailable, as with catastrophe bonds; the Appointed Actuary can decide capital treatment for many arrangements; and the new rules take effect on January 1, 2027.

Canada's banking and insurance supervisor ranks residential mortgage risk first in its Annual Risk Outlook for April 2026 to April 2027, followed by non-bank financial institutions and funding and liquidity, notes that 1.3 million mortgages face first-time renewal at higher payments, and says its loan-to-income limit framework has met its prudential objectives.

From July 15, 2026, UK interest-free 'Deferred Payment Credit' offered by a lender separate from the retailer is regulated by the FCA under policy statement PS26/1: lenders must check affordability, give key information, and customers can use the Financial Ombudsman and, in some cases, Section 75 refund rights.

The Upper Tribunal suspended parts of the FCA's motor finance redress scheme on July 2, 2026 on terms agreed with four challengers, so lenders need not calculate or pay redress for now; a hearing is listed for December 2026 or February 2027 and payments could slip to 2028 or later if the scheme is overturned.

On June 30, 2026 the FCA published final rules and guidance for the new UK cryptoasset regime, with authorisation applications opening on September 30, 2026, a saving provision for firms that apply by February 28, 2027 and the regime taking full effect on October 25, 2027.

OSFI's Annual Risk Outlook for 2026-27, released on April 14, 2026, names real estate secured lending, non-bank financial institution risk (reintroduced) and liquidity and funding risk as its priorities, and sets targeted plans for insurers covering private credit, cyber, AI in underwriting, claims inflation and catastrophe resilience.

MAS consulted until July 31, 2026 on amendments to its Technology Risk Management Notices covering insurers, banks, payment firms and others, proposing IT asset inventories, risk registers, capacity planning, change management, continuous monitoring, immutable or offline backups, and counting partial or intermittent disruption toward the four-hour annual downtime limit.

Under policy statement PS25/22, firms can now offer 'suggestions designed for groups of consumers with common characteristics'; the FCA Board confirmed the rules on February 26, applications opened on March 2, and the FCA estimates about 23 million consumers are underserved by advice and guidance.

Governor Josh Stein signed House Bill 315, the Prohibit Litigation Investments Act, on June 22, 2026, banning third-party litigation investment in North Carolina civil proceedings with nine exceptions, civil penalties of up to $50,000 per violation and a private right of action for treble damages.

The Prudential Regulation Authority's solvent exit planning rules (PS20/24 and SS11/24) took effect on June 30, 2026; insurers prepare a Solvent Exit Analysis as part of business as usual, supervisors may request it from that date, and Lloyd's managing agents, passive run-off firms and UK branches of overseas insurers are out of scope.

India's insurance regulator published a draft on June 17, 2026 setting a formal procedure for making regulations and issuing subsidiary instructions, with at least 21 days of public comment and a review of every regulation every three years; comments were due by July 8.

Federal Decree-Law No. 6 of 2025 consolidated UAE banking and insurance regulation under the Central Bank, widened the regulatory perimeter to technology platforms and gave regulated firms a one-year transition ending in mid-September 2026.

IRDAI's exposure draft (comments until July 6, 2026) would let non-operative holding companies merge into their insurer subsidiaries, restructure share-transfer approval thresholds, allow foreign SPVs from FATF-compliant jurisdictions and reserve insurance-related names for insurers.

The FCA's December 18, 2025 response to a Which? super-complaint accepts firms must do more under the Consumer Duty, will expand work on claims handling and sales processes, rejects a market study and will publish an update by the end of 2026.

In a letter dated May 2026 and signed by Commissioner Simone Constant, ASIC said misuse of frontier AI could expose vulnerabilities faster and at greater scale; it urges firms to patch quickly, limit exposure, test incident plans and table the letter at the board.

Parliament passed the Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Bill on December 16-17, 2025, raising the foreign investment limit in Indian insurers from 74% to 100% and giving IRDAI wider powers over intermediaries and boards.

IRDAI's May 25, 2026 circular amending its 2024 master circular on corporate governance makes six customer- and soundness-related parameters worth 50% of the assessment for variable pay of key management personnel, effective from FY 2026-27.

KBRA's June 8, 2026 research says private letter ratings are not synonymous with private credit and that a higher regulatory capital charge differs from a realised loss; the NAIC amendment's January 2026 start has been delayed.

According to Insurance Business citing the Financial Times, the NAIC is examining the ratings on data centre investments held by insurers; privately placed bonds were 23.4% of admitted bonds in 2025 per S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Merck will pay more than $50 million, according to people familiar with the matter, to settle more than 200 dismissed North Carolina cases and a Los Angeles case set for trial, ending Gardasil litigation apart from one case without admitting liability.

The Financial Conduct Authority's final report, published on February 3, found no need for an APR cap, a 0% mandate or a commission ban for monthly payment of motor and home insurance, relying instead on Consumer Duty supervision.

APRA finalised targeted changes to its CPS 230 operational risk standard on April 30, 2026, exempting material arrangements with certain non-traditional service providers from specific contract terms where compliance is not practicable, effective July 1, 2026.