In view of the impending Solvency II Directive (Directive 2009/138/EC), which will be fully applied as of 1 January 2016, and the considerable changes associated with the directive, the (German) insurance landscape will not remain in its current state.

As a consequence of a recent amendment to the German insurance regulatory law, which entered into effect on 2 January 2014, infringements of certain compliance provisions applicable to insurance companies in Germany can constitute a criminal offence.

The courts and FOS are now headed down very different paths in their approach to credit crunch losses suffered by clients of regulated firms. While FOS has all but abandoned the general law of causation in its approach to cases of consumer detriment, we have observed how the courts have held again and again that the general law of causation applies to mis-selling claims.

The FOS opened last week for the business of being open. It is now subject to the Freedom of Information Act. However, theFOS web page on the point suggests the Service is trying to limit what will no doubt be a flood of requests.

The FOS’ web page sets out a long list of facts and figures it is most frequently asked about, organised into seven categories adopting the Information Commissioner’s model publication scheme for non-departmental public bodies covered by the FoIA.