On 15 January 2021, the UK Supreme Court (“Supreme Court”) delivered its much-anticipated judgment in The Financial Conduct Authority v Arch Insurance (UK) Limited and Others [2021] UKSC 1 in respect of a representative sample of business interruption property insurance (“Business Interruption”) policies. 

In light of the decision by the Supreme Court to construe the relevant clauses broadly, we anticipate that there will be an increase in claims by policyholders for losses resulting from business interruptions caused by COVID-19 pandemic. 

Malaysian insurers are encouraged to revisit their existing Business Interruption policies, to consider how the existing policy wordings may be impacted by the judgment, and if needed, consider revising and refining their policies.

On 31 December 2020, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) issued its Licensing Framework for Digital Banks (“Licensing Framework”) and indicated that it may issue up to five digital bank licences.