Our recognised team of dedicated insurance and reinsurance lawyers handle a vast range of insurance disputes and litigation. Our clients include general insurers and reinsurers, global composites, Lloyd’s syndicates, self-insured PLCs and self-insuring government bodies. Our focus on the insurance industry means we really understand the legal, commercial and regulatory issues you face.
Our UK team spans London, Belfast, Birmingham, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Maidstone, Manchester, Sheffield and Taunton and comprises over 95 partners and 250 solicitors. Many of us are trained mediators or arbitrators, or have additional professional qualifications gained outside the legal profession. Given the international nature of much of our work, we work closely with our colleagues in Australia, Dubai, Hong Kong, Miami, Singapore, Spain, and New Zealand.
We offer a ‘cradle to grave’ service, from drafting and revising policy wordings, to interpreting and handling complex coverage disputes. On the non-contentious side, our expertise extends to reviewing and auditing insurers’ and reinsurers’ claims files. We also provide general advice on the impact of new or anticipated legislation and industry developments.
On the contentious side, we advise insurers, reinsurers and their clients on a diverse range of coverage issues arising from significant national and international losses.
Our areas of advice include:
- Multi-million pound, multi-party insurance and reinsurance disputes
- Policy review and the construction of insurance policies
- Related advice - including e-commerce and internet use
- Subrogation issues - including material damage and business interruption
- Financial lines work - including fidelity and directors’ and officers’ matters
- Excess of loss casualty
- Professional indemnity
- Domestic and international property and energy claims, both onshore and offshore - this includes contractors’ all risks, erection all risks, business interruption, contingent business interruption and delay in start-up claims
- Environmental liability
- Fraud
- Product liability and recalls
- Employer’s and public liability
- Advice on market agreements
- Referrals to the Ombudsman
- Arbitration, mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution
- Public policy reform
Work highlights
- Successfully defended London market excess insurers against a claim emanating from the collapse of the Erinaceous Group. The coverage dispute was worth in excess of £10 million and involved the attempted (but failed) rectification of an excess layer professional indemnity policy.
- Acting on a £100 million coverage dispute arising from substantial product liability claims involving defective marine propulsion units. Parallel coverage proceedings are ongoing in Florida and London.
- Advising insurers on their potentially substantial exposures to the airline industry following the Icelandic volcanic dust cloud incident in March 2010.
- Advising insurers on their exposures to property damage and business interruption losses following the violent demonstrations in Bangkok in May 2010.
- Acting for Buncefield Property Insurance Group in relation to their members’ £450 million claims against Total Downstream UK Plc, Total UK Ltd and Hertfordshire Oil Storage Ltd.
- Acting for the liability insurers of petrol suppliers in connection with the alleged contamination of fuel in the south east of England.
- Acting for reinsurers in a $150 million claim arising from property damage to an oil refinery as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
- Represented 37 defendant professional indemnity insurers in a dispute relating to the construction of a financial institutions policy. The claim concerned the mis-selling of endowment policies - Standard Life Assurance Company v Oak Dedicated Ltd & Others.