MS Amlin fined $17.3 million over risk management failures

24 October 2022

The UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has fined MS Amlin Underwriting £9.695 million ($17.3 million) over governance and risk management failures.

PRA says there were various issues in relation to a number of the Lloyd’s insurer’s systems, controls and processes, thereby placing the business in breach of its regulatory obligations.

The breaches relate to MS Amlin’s governance and oversight of underwriting, underwriting controls, management information, data quality, and risk management strategies and systems between September 2014 and December 2019.

PRA says its investigation found several areas for concern including lack of effective controls over underwriting and failure to put in place appropriate or effective risk mitigation strategies.

The regulator communicated its concerns but the insurer failed to address the issues in an effective and timely manner during the relevant period.

“It is vital that firms have in place appropriate governance, oversight and risk management controls, and that firms remediate issues identified by the PRA in a full and timely manner,” PRA CEO and Deputy Governor for Prudential Regulation Sam Woods said.

“The penalty reflects the seriousness of [MS Amlin’s] failure to meet the expected standards in this case, and should deter similar conduct by other firms.”

The regulator says MS Amlin agreed to resolve the matter and therefore qualified for a 30% reduction in the fine.

Without the discount, the fine imposed by the PRA would have been £13.85 million ($24.7 million).