Insurance briefing is a round-up of legal and business developments published on Out-Law.com.

Welcome to the Insurance Briefing - our fortnightly round-up of insurance legal and business developments with analysis and commentary from the insurance team at Pinsent Masons.

It has been a busy fortnight and the main topics we're focusing on this week include:

Regulator: insurers should warn customers about Brexit impact

Insurers should keep abreast of Brexit developments and inform customers of the impact on policies as soon as that information is available, the UK financial regulator has said. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned insurers that its communications will be assessed according to rules set out in its Handbook.

Uncertainty over privilege likely to lead to insurance case appeal

The High Court's ruling that an insurance policy holder cannot be forced to disclose documents covered by litigation privilege is open to appeal because of apparent inconsistencies in the ruling's approach to privilege. Litigation privilege allows people or companies to keep secret any documents that relate to investigations and legal advice relating to that case. The High Court has ruled that insurer AIG could not force KeyMed (Medical and Industrial Equipment) Limited officers to disclose emails related to a dispute about insurance for legal costs.

Access to pensions reform limited by lack of advisor insurance cover

Experts are warning that a lack of insurance cover for financial advisors guiding pensioners through the options available to them could prevent pensions reforms from being fully effective. Keith Richards, chief executive of independent financial advisors' group the Personal Finance Society (PFS), said some professional indemnity insurers were no longer providing cover for advisors providing pension transfer advice.

EU fintech action plan backs Open Banking and cloud computing

The European Commission has outlined a high level vision for a future EU-wide 'open banking' system. The Commission said that work being undertaken in the payment services market across the EU "is an interesting test case" for a broader 'open banking' system.

EU crowdfunding regulations proposed alongside new fintech action plan

Crowdfunding platforms will be able to provide their services across the whole of the EU via a system of regulatory 'passporting' under new laws proposed by the European Commission. The Commission published a draft new regulation on European crowdfunding service providers for business (62-page / 901KB PDF) on Thursday. Platforms active in both the loan-based crowdfunding and investment-based crowdfunding markets would be subject to the new rules.

Driverless cars: UK commissions review of driving laws

A "detailed review" of driving laws has been commissioned by the UK government in a bid to ensure UK legislation is fit to support a future of autonomous vehicles. The Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission will together "examine any legal obstacles to the widespread introduction of self-driving vehicles and highlight the need for regulatory reforms" during their three year project, the government said.

Businesses urged to document agreements in light of Lidl case

A recent ruling by the Court of Appeal in London has highlighted why businesses should always properly document their agreements, a property law expert has said. Tom Johnson of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, was commenting after the Court of Appeal dismissed a property developer's claims to rights in land that had been purchased by supermarket chain Lidl.

UK chancellor: close collaboration on financial services 'makes sense'

It is in the "mutual interest" of both the UK and EU to incorporate financial services into the terms of a future trade deal once the UK leaves the trading bloc, the UK chancellor of the exchequer has said. The UK is not seeking 'passporting', as it will no longer be a member of the single market, but neither should it be treated in the same way as other 'third countries', given the scale and complexity of UK-EU financial services trade", Philip Hammond said, in a speech in the City of London.

Draft EU withdrawal bill sets out Irish border 'fall-back'

The EU has published the draft text of a withdrawal agreement setting out the potential terms of the UK's departure from the EU, including a "fall-back" to avoid a hard border with Ireland in the event that agreement on a different arrangement cannot be reached. The draft document (119-page / 980KB PDF) "translates into legal terms" the joint progress announcement between the UK and EU of December 2017. However, UK politicians have rejected the proposed solution to the problems raised by the land border between the EU and UK in Northern Ireland, which Arlene Foster of the DUP has described as "constitutionally unacceptable".

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