Insurance and Reinsurance

Insurance and Reinsurance work has been the cornerstone of Brick Court Chambers' practice for decades and we are widely regarded as one of the leading sets in this field. In recent years members of Chambers have been instructed in a large variety of insurance and reinsurance litigation. Disputes have related to complex liability, property, contingency, directors and officers, professional indemnity, fidelity, contractors' all risk and financial guarantee insurance disputes, quota share reinsurances, surplus treaty reinsurances, hull all risks reinsurances, and war risks reinsurances.

Historically the variety and breadth of Chambers' practice has been reflected in our involvement in many of the major market issues that Lloyds has faced in recent decades. These have included the PA LMX spiral, film finance, asbestos liability in the United States, losses arising out of 9/11, the mis-selling of split capital investment trusts, cases arising out of the Reconstruction and Renewal Assignment at Lloyds, the Aon 77 Energy cover and the market-wide political risk dispute between Lloyds insurers and reinsurers as a result of the loss of Newbuildings upon the collapse of communism in the former Yugoslavia and the former Soviet Union.

Members of Chambers regularly appear before industry sector-specific arbitration panels, and recent experience has included complex excess layer insurance regarding professional indemnity claims arising out of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, marine excess of loss reinsurance claims arising out of 9/11, and tri-partite insurance disputes arising out of the insurance of the cash-back offer to the general public operated by one of the leading electrical goods retailers in the UK.

Members of Chambers undertake a very wide variety of work in this field.  Recent cases range from the £500 million claim concerning insurance of the Lloyds central fund to advising insurers on a £2 billion claim in a US class action suit. In addition members have also been acting in political and war risks claims, such as the claim in respect of a blow-out on a drilling rig in Uzbekistan and a Lloyds market reinsurance claim concerning the theft of helicopters in Columbia by FARC guerrillas.

In particular, members of Chambers are also currently acting on both sides (for insurers and reinsurers) in one of the most important reinsurance cases for many years, WASA and AGF v Lexington, which is due to be heard by the House of Lords in 2009 and concerns the extent of "back to back" cover where the Reinsurance is governed by English law but contains a US service of suit clause.

Recent work has included:

• Wasa & AGF v Lexington (House of Lords)
• Royal Sun Alliance v Dornoch (Court of Appeal)
• Euclidian v Trygg Baltica & Ors (Commercial Court)
• T & N v Royal Sun Alliance (Court of Appeal)
• Cable & Wireless / Pender v Valentine (Commercial Court)
• Sphere Drake v Stirling Cooke (Commercial Court)