Coverage and policy drafting

As Insurance lawyers dealing with coverage issues is part and parcel of our business. We are proud to be the sole panel coverage firm for a number of insurers and Lloyd’s syndicates.

We appreciate the importance to both insurers and policyholders of determining coverage as early as possible following a notification being made. Our team of specialists is well versed in all types of coverage disputes.

Many of the coverage disputes that we handle involve construction, professional and financial risks but our expertise is such that we are now instructed on large disputes across all classes of business, including engineering, public liability, political risk, trade credit and property.

We regularly advise both primary and excess layer insurers and also act for cedants in large reinsurance disputes. We also advise on and regularly draft policy wordings for insurers. We have drafted many new wordings to comply with the Insurance Act 2015 and act on an agreed fee basis to draft bespoke wordings or review those prepared by in-house wordings technicians.

Our Coverage and policy drafting Experience

£130m claim against solicitors, UK

Acting for insurers in a £130m claim against solicitors which involves passing back to a prior year, dishonesty and aggregation issues.

£15m claim against insurance brokers

Successfully repudiating a £15m claim against insurance brokers under the insuring clause and various exclusions.

£8m claim for damages

Successfully repudiating an £8m claim for damages arising out of inadequate fireproofing in a large residential development.

JV of contractors and the definition of ‘damage’

Advising on the definition of ‘damage’ under an owner controlled insurance programme and whether or not the loss suffered fell within that definition.

International online spread-betting company

Advising on complex coverage issues in relation to an international online spread-betting company. It was discovered that there had been deliberate falsification of client money reconciliations, that approximately €25 million was owing to clients and that the company was insolvent with no means of paying its debts.

Coverage position under a Design and Construct policy

Reporting to insurers on the coverage position under a Design and Construct policy, for several separate notifications made to the same policy. The issues analysed included the operation of the mitigation of loss insuring clause, non-disclosure, late notification and exclusion for inadequate workmanship/materials. The indemnities sought in the notifications ranged from c£150,000 to in excess of £3 million.