English insurance law is changing. On August 1, 2016, the new insurance law, the Insurance Act of 2015, came into force. The 2015 Act addresses pre-contractual disclosure, misrepresentation and insurance companies’ remedies for breach of pre-contractual duties with respect to non-consumer insurance contracts and warranties and fraudulent claims with respect to all insurance contracts.

Many U.S. businesses large and small purchase insurance in the London market, and many policies governed by English law are part of U.S. companies’ insurance portfolios. Therefore, risk managers on this side of the Atlantic should take careful note of the changes.

Before it came into force in August, the 2015 Act was amended with additional provisions introduced by another piece of legislation, the Enterprise Act 2016, to permit, for the first time in English law, damages for late payment of insurance claims. These new provisions regarding damages for late payment come into force in May 2017.