Do Banks in Hong Kong Need an Insurance Intermediary Licence for Insurance Premium Financing and Referral Activities?

Banks have certain activities related to insurance, such as referrals, premium financing and trust arrangements. Under the new Section 64G of the Insurance Ordinance ...

Innovation for In-House Attorneys: The Need to Educate Regulators on New Tech

It's incumbent on corporate counsel to educate regulators about advancements in their industries, according to speakers at a conference in Phoenix on Wednesday, October ...

Internet of Things Incidents

Cyber attacks now reach a broad range of connected devices, ranging from connected toys, fitness trackers, home alarm systems, cars and medical devices to connected ...

Berkeley Burke Sounds Warning for Professional Indemnity Insurers

Mayer Brown LLP's Tom Hunter highlights areas of interest in this bylined article on the Berkeley Burke administration and the implications for the pension ...

US and UK Sign Historic Bilateral Data Access Agreement

On October 7, 2019, the United States and United Kingdom released the text of a bilateral data access agreement that would permit law enforcement authorities in one ...

Cyber Resilience for Insurers – GL20

The number of cyber attacks are on the increase and so is its level of sophistication. Because insurance companies are data-driven businesses holding vast amounts of ...

@Insurance Snapshot: Regulatory Corner – September

For all of our Regulatory Corners, visit here.

Mayer Brown partner Larry Hamilton and associate Sanjiv Tata highlight areas of interest in this Regulatory Corner.

Scandal Insurance Offers Carriers Fertile Ground For Growth

Bylined article by London Litigation & Dispute Resolution partner James Whitaker and associate Ali Jones on the rise of scandal insurance.

For more, visit ...

@Insurance Snapshot: Regulatory Corner – Highlights from the NAIC Meeting: Investment-Related Initiatives

Investment-Related Initiatives from the NAIC Meeting of August 4, 2019
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) held its most recent national ...

Other States Join California in Passing (and Others Are Trying to Pass) Stricter Data Privacy and Security Legislation

While most companies are squarely focused on the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), 2019 has seen other major developments on data privacy and security. Several ...

Brexit Update

With the current Brexit situation, following the election of Boris Johnson as the UK’s Prime Minister, there are major issues to explore, such as how a no-deal Brexit ...

ICO to Impose Fines Totaling of £275 Million Against Two International Businesses for GDPR Violations

In July 2019, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), a European data protection supervisory authority, has flexed its muscles and has announced its intention ...

China Announced “11 Measures” to Further Open Up Its Financial Sector

On 20 July 2019, the Office of Financial Stability and Development Committee of the State Council, China’s Central Government, announced Relevant Measures for Further ...

Mayer Brown’s Tech Talks, Episode 6: Smart Licensing of AI

AI licenses require many of the same terms and conditions that you would expect in “regular” licenses for software, technology and SaaS. However, licensing AI ...

IP Rights for Data: Mortaring Over the Cracks

In the world of intellectual property rights, there are cracks the law doesn’t reach—areas that do not sit squarely within copyright, patent, or trade secret law. ...

Insurtech Collaborations in the US: Key Regulatory and Contractual Issues

The insurtech revolution is turning out to be far less about disruption than about collaboration—with the insurtech startups bringing improved analytics and user ...

@Insurance Snapshot: Regulatory Corner – Acquiring Ownership: Considerations in Acquiring a “Controlling” Interest in a US Insurance Company

Investing in a US insurance company presents unique concerns to any investor. This is particularly the case if such an investment would result in the investor becoming a ...

Smart Licensing of Artificial Intelligence: What Licensing Issues Are Unique to AI?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the newest golden child in technology. While definitions abound, we will define artificial intelligence as "the theory and development of ...

Mayer Brown named “Financial Facilitator of the Year” at the Trading Risk Awards 2019

Mayer Brown was named “Financial Facilitator of the Year” at the 11th annual Trading Risk Awards in London. The awards recognize excellence and the achievements of ...

Impacts of Brazil’s New General Law of Data Protection On Labor Relationships

The New General Law of Data Protection (LGPD) innovates how the personal data must be processed by companies in Brazil. Inspired by the European General Data Protection ...

Courting Alternative Capital: Hong Kong and Singapore Increase Efforts To Attract ILS

In the more than 20 years that catastrophe bonds have been around they have mostly been used to cover peak risks in Florida, but there is growing interest in adding Asia ...

@Insurance Snapshot: Regulatory Corner – Breaking Down Blockchain: Implications of Blockchain Technology for the Insurance Industry

As the decade comes to a close, new technologies are having a major impact on how insurance industry participants conduct their operations – especially how they ...

Insurance as Unfunded Credit Protection

A year after the UK Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) published its controversial Consultation Paper (CP) 6/18 "Credit risk mitigation: Eligibility of guarantees as ...

New Codes of Conduct for Insurance Intermediaries are Coming Soon!

The new Section 90 of the Insurance Ordinance Cap. 41 (“Ordinance”) introduces statutory conduct requirements for licensed insurance agents and insurance brokers. ...

Legal Perspectives for Technology & Innovation

Mayer Brown’s Technology Transactions Practice is pleased to announce the release of Legal Perspectives for Technology & Innovation: Insights. Written for in-house ...

Employees of Insurers Beware – Do You Need to be Licensed as an Insurance Intermediary in Hong Kong?

Under the new insurance licensing regime, Section 64G of the Insurance Ordinance Cap. 41 provides that a person must not carry out regulated activities, or hold out as ...

Blockchain for Business

Interest in blockchain has grown dramatically, with a rapid increase in investment and engagement.  Over the course of 2017, numerous companies in financial, ...

@Insurance Snapshot: Regulatory Corner – The California Consumer Privacy Act: Key Takeaways for Insurers and Insurance Regulators

The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) will impact how insurers collect, store, sell and process the personal information of California consumers. Other US ...

Dos and Dont’s for Big Data Analytics

Machine learning, artificial intelligence and other big data analytics tools are delivering business value by producing valuable insights and augmenting human ...

Who Owns Model Risk in an AI World?

Complicated computerized models and quantitative analyses are a fundamental mainstay in the financial services industry, from quantitative investment asset managers who ...

Blockchain’s Possibilities for Contracting: Tech Talks

In today's interconnected, “always-on” environment, it is easy to forget how dependent we all are on records and, more importantly, on the people we trust to make ...

@Insurance Snapshot: Regulatory Corner – Corporate Governance Gaining Ground: An Update on the NAIC Corporate Governance Annual Disclosure Act

The past ten years have resulted in numerous changes to the corporate governance requirements for insurance companies and, as appropriate, their parent companies and ...

Four Key Takeaways from FSN Capital’s Recent €50 Million Warranty & Indemnity Insurance Claim

A consortium of 12 insurance underwriters led by Liberty GTS recently paid a €50 million claim under a warranty and indemnity liability (W&I) insurance policy ...

Mayer Brown Strengthens Insurance and Corporate Capabilities with arrival of Sheng Wu in Hong Kong

Mayer Brown has strengthened its Corporate & Securities practice with the arrival of Sheng Wu as a partner in Hong Kong. Sheng has substantial experience working ...

US Federal Trade Commission Proposes Prescriptive Data Security Requirements and Other Updates to Its Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act Regulations

On March 5, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) proposed a number of revisions to its Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (“GLBA”) regulations, which would (i) ...

HKMA’s Expectations in Light of BCBS’ Statement on Crypto-Assets

The Banking Policy Department of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) published a circular (BCBS Statement on Crypto-Assets) on March 18, 2019 in light of a ...

FTC Announces Technology Task Force with Broad Investigative and Enforcement Powers

On February 26, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the formation of the Technology Task Force, which will target any anticompetitive conduct in the ...

Mayer Brown Strengthens Practice with New Hires

Partners Paul Chen, Kara Baysinger, Matt Gaul and Stephanie Duchene recently joined the firm, significantly strengthening our global insurance capabilities. ...

Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Issues in M&A Transactions

In this third episode of Mayer Brown's Tech Talks, the Firm's partners Christian W. Fabian, Stephen Lilley and Lei Shein, focus on data privacy and cybersecurity issues ...

Global Insurance Industry Year in Review 2018

In this report, Mayer Brown's Global Insurance Industry Group discuss developments and trends in insurance industry transactions in the past year in North America, ...

Electronic Discovery & Information Governance – Tip of the Month: 2018 Tips of the Month – A Compilation

2018 continued a trend of significant vendor consolidation in the e-discovery and information governance space, return to form in delaying the time to answer the ...

Transactional Liability Insurance Roundtable

On February 27, Mayer Brown’s New York office hosted a Transactional Liability Insurance Roundtable for members of the transactional liability insurance ecosystem.  ...

President Trump Launches AI Strategy for Federal Government

On February 11, 2019, President Trump signed an “Executive Order on Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence” (the “Order”) and, in doing so, ...

An Unconventional Circular Letter: NYDFS Provides the Nation’s First Directive on the Proper Use of Unconventional and Alternative Data

Last month, the New York State Department of Financial Services (the “DFS” or “Department”) became the first US regulator to impose specific, substantive ...

@Insurance Snapshot: Regulatory Corner: Finding Common Ground – Recent Developments in International Group Supervision

As with many industries, the insurance sector has become increasingly more complex and internationally connected over the past decade.  More than ever, international ...

Report Warns Legal Departments to Prepare for More Cross-Border Cybersecurity Incidents

A new report highlights key issues that companies and legal departments should expect to confront in responding to cross-border cyber incidents, from managing ...

EU Cyber Threat Landscape and Outlook: What You Should Know about the ENISA 2018 Report

The landscape for cyberattacks is constantly evolving. Attacks are becoming more global and sophisticated, and 2019 is poised to continue this trend toward increasing ...

2019 Outlook: Cybersecurity and Data Privacy

Cybersecurity and data privacy presented some of the most complex legal questions and business risks that multinational companies faced in 2018. Businesses should expect ...

Free Flow of Personal Data Between the European Union and Japan Starts Now

On January 23, the European Commission (the "EU Commission") authorized the free flow of personal data to Japan. This "adequacy decision," issued jointly with a ...

US National Futures Association Adopts Notification Requirement for Certain Cybersecurity Incidents

On January 7, 2019, the US self-regulatory organization the National Futures Association (“NFA”) announced that it had adopted amendments to its information security ...

@Insurance Snapshot: Regulatory Corner – Keeping it Private: GDPR and Developments in Data Privacy in 2018

By any measure, 2018 was a major year for data privacy regulation.  The most significant regulatory development in this area was the European Union’s General Data ...

Push for Standardized Data Security Controls for Insurers Gains Momentum

In late December, Ohio became the second state to adopt the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) Insurance Data Model Law, joining South Carolina in ...

Top Tips: Preparing Technology Arrangements for Brexit

The ultimate form of the UK's exit from the European Union remains a hotly debated topic. Unless some form of extension of the period of notice served by the UK is ...

EU-US Privacy Shield Undergoes Second Review by EU Commission and (Re)Passes the Test—For Certifying Companies, Santa Has Come to Town

On December 19, the EU Commission ("Commission") published its report to the European Parliament and the Council on the second review of the functioning of the EU-US ...

How ‘AV 3.0’ Changed The Autonomous Vehicle Game In 2018

On Oct. 3, the U.S. Department of Transportation released its most significant 2018 guidance on the design, testing and deployment of driverless vehicles: "Preparing for ...

@Insurance Snapshot: Regulatory Corner – Eyeing AI: Artificial Intelligence and its Increasing Impact on the Insurance Industry

The use of artificial intelligence (“AI”), which may be defined as the development of computer systems able to perform tasks normally associated with human ...

Asia IP & TMT: Quarterly Review

In the 2018 Q4 edition of the Asia Intellectual Property (IP) and Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) Newsletter, Mayer Brown's team covers numerous areas ...

SFC Announcements on Regulatory Approach to Virtual Assets

Executive Summary

In a keynote speech at the Hong Kong Fintech Week on November 1, 2018, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) again asserted its ...

Technology, Investment and Security: The Modernization of CFIUS – What Does it Mean for the Global Investor?

On August 13, 2018, President Trump signed into law the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act, or FIRRMA. This legislation was designed to enhance US national ...

Court Finds That Virtual Currency Is a Commodity—For the Time Being

On September 26, 2018, a US federal court found that virtual currency constitutes a class of items that are commodities under the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”) ...

@Insurance Snapshot: Regulatory Corner – Reinsurance Collateral Requirements – They Are A-Changing: An Update on the Covered Agreement Prior to the NAIC Fall Meeting

In mid-November, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (the “NAIC”) will be holding its fall meeting, bringing together insurance regulators, companies ...

Open wide! The HKMA’s Open API Framework

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)’s Open Application Programming Interface Framework for the Banking Sector (Open API Framework), was issued on July 18, 2018, ...

DOJ Releases Updated Cyber Incident Response Guidance for Private Sector Entities

On September 27, 2018, the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (“CCIPS”) of the Criminal Division of the US Department of Justice (“DOJ”) released a ...

SEC Brings First Enforcement Action Under the Identity Theft Red Flags Rule

Last month the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) brought and settled charges against a registered broker-dealer/investment adviser ("the Registrant") for ...

Ohio’s New Cybersecurity Law: Creating a Data Breach Safe Harbor

Policymakers long have wrestled with how to enhance private-sector cybersecurity without imposing prescriptive one-size-fits-all requirements that undermine effective ...

California Enacts First State Law Targeting IOT Cybersecurity

On September 28th, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a first-of-its kind law to regulate the security of connected devices that make up the “Internet of Things” ...

Innovation for Auto Vehicles gets Green Light from DOT

Earlier this month, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) released new guidance, Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automated Vehicles 3.0 (AV 3.0), for the ...

Missiles, Malware and Merger Management: Why Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Matter to M&A Practitioners

What does a nuclear missile accident have in common with a cybersecurity or data privacy issue in M&A?  In both cases, small missteps can lead to wide-ranging and ...

@Insurance Snapshot: Regulatory Corner – Deciphering Cybersecurity: An Introduction to Cybersecurity Regulatory Initiatives in the Insurance Industry

The past five years have seen a massive acceleration in the amounts of data being generated, processed and stored in virtually every industry, including insurance. As ...

Droning On – Hong Kong Proposes New Regulations for Drones

The rise in popularity of unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), more commonly known as drones, have led to an increased awareness of the potential risks associated with ...

Cybersecurity and Data Privacy: Navigating a Constantly Changing Landscape

The cybersecurity and data privacy landscape continues to change, creating significant new risks for businesses across economic sectors. New types of litigation are ...

Treasury’s Fintech Report: What You Need to Know

In late July, the Treasury Department issued its report on fintech and financial innovation. A Financial System That Creates ...

The Reality of Artificial Intelligence in Financial Services

Artificial intelligence (AI)—sometimes referred to as “machine learning”—has begun to transform how financial services are provided. This trend will continue, ...

Mayer Brown’s Tech Talks, Episode 3: The Big Data Paradox

Big data is top of mind at virtually every company and is often described as one of a business’s most valuable assets. In spite ...

Mayer Brown’s Tech Talks, Episode 2: The Future of Outsourcing

The future of outsourcing is digital. New technologies will pair custom, made-for-you solutions with fast, accurate and low-cost automated services. However, digital ...

Mayer Brown Tech Talks, Episode 1: Staying Ahead of AI

Across a variety of industries, more and more companies are building, buying and using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their technology services agreements to further ...

Thriving in an Age of Digital Transformation: Insights from Mayer Brown’s Technology Transactions Practice

Mayer Brown’s Technology Transactions practice is pleased to announce the release of our new thought-provoking guide titled Technology Transactions: Thriving in an Age ...

Five Questions General Counsels Should Ask about Securing the Internet of Things

The rapid growth of the Internet of Things (“IoT”) has brought significant new opportunities for businesses across sectors. From consumer products such as smart ...

The New York State DFS Cybersecurity Regulation: Preparing for Compliance

Bylined article by Financial Services Regulatory & Enforcement partner Jeffrey Taft (Washington DC), Corporate & Securities partner Larry Hamilton (Chicago), ...

Global Insurance Industry Year in Review

Our Global Insurance Industry Year In Review for 2016 discusses developments and trends in insurance industry transactions in the past year in North America, Bermuda, ...

Cybersecurity Regulation in the United States: Governing Frameworks and Emerging Trends

Companies across industry sectors have developed risk-based cybersecurity programs to respond to the substantial and complex cyber threats they face. Managing ...

The ABC of Fintech: Acquisitions, Brexit and Collaboration

In H2 2016, Mayer Brown commissioned Mergermarket to survey 70 respondents at UK-headquartered financial services companies and 50 respondents at UK-headquartered ...

2017 Outlook: Cybersecurity and Data Privacy

Cybersecurity and data privacy issues continued to grow in significance for multinational businesses over the past 12 months, further heightening the importance of ...