IRELAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Grainne Callanan, April McClements and Aisling Kavanagh, Matheson LLP
12. Developments in Insurance Law 12.1 Significant Legislative or Regulatory Developments Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2025 On 15 April 2025, the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2025 (2025 Act) was signed into law by the President The key aim of the 2025 Act is to strengthen protec- tions for financial consumers by amending the legisla- tion underpinning the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO). One of the main impacts of the 2025 Act is the clari- fication that the FSPO may investigate complaints concerning financial service providers and pension providers that are no longer regulated by the CBI, pro- vided they were regulated at the time of the conduct in question. Additionally, the 2025 Act provides enhanced legal clarity for the statutory operation of the FSPO. The 2025 Act takes account of the ruling Zalewski v Adjudication Officer & Ors [2021] IESC 24, and updates elements where the FSPO could be viewed as administering justice. The 2025 Act also sets out a limited number of further amendments to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Act 2017. Following its March 2024 Consultation Paper on the CPC (the “Consultation Paper”), in March 2025, the CBI published the Feedback Statement to the Con- sultation Paper together with the finalised regulations and guidance documents. The Central Bank has updated its dedicated CPC webpage. The updated CPC will comprise two regulations: the Standards for Business Regulations and the Con- sumer Protection Regulations. These regulations were The 2025 Act is now fully in force. Heightened Regulatory Scrutiny Publication of revised CPC documents
signed into law on 24 March 2025 and will take effect on 24 March 2026, following a 12-month implementa- tion period. Three guidance documents were also published, as follows: • General Code Guidance, which provides guid- ance to firms to support the implementation of the broader requirements of the revised CPC. This guidance incorporates and updates the exist- ing CPC guidance and includes new guidance on the changes under the revised CPC, which was informed by feedback received during the consul- tation process. It should be noted that the General Code Guidance was not published last year with CP158; • Guidance on Protecting Consumers in Vulnerable Circumstances; and • Guidance on Securing Customers’ Interests. Regulation and supervision priorities for 2025 On 28 February 2025, the CBI published its Regu- latory and Supervisory Outlook Report (“Report”). The Report sets out the CBI’s assessment of the key trends and risks that are shaping the financial sector. On the basis of such assessment, the Report also details the CBI’s regulatory and supervisory priorities for the next two years. Looking specifically at the supervisory priorities, they remain as set out in the 2024 report. The Report details six cross-sectoral supervisory priorities and what it expects firms to do in response. The priorities focus on: • managing risk; • being consumer-centric; • resiliency; • managing change; • addressing climate change risk; and • responding to operating framework deficiencies. As regards insurance specifically, the following priori- ties were highlighted: • supporting EIOPA’s 2025 EU-wide strategic super- visory priorities, with the Central Bank stating that
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