Insurance and reinsurance litigation
Our insurance litigation team deals with high value, complex and high-profile insurance and reinsurance disputes, often with an international element. Matters dealt with include resolving insurance and reinsurance policy wording disputes, dealing with policy avoidance issues and advising on issues relating to breach of warranty or breach of condition.
We represent insurers and/or their insureds in relation to a wide variety of claims. These include product liability claims (and advising on product safety and recall) and professional negligence claims, with particular expertise in relation to insurance brokers. We deal with property damage and business interruption, environmental, pollution, energy and aviation insurance claims and claims under defective title and restrictive covenant insurance policies. We also advise on insurance aspects of corporate transactions and on directors' and officers' insurance policy wordings and claims.
We handle personal injury claims and advise clients in relation to product liability claims, group actions and test actions which often give rise to issues at the forefront of scientific knowledge. We advise clients in relation to major incidents and disasters as well as disease claims including stress at work.
We represent clients in relation to health and safety prosecutions and provide health and safety advice to a wide range of industry sectors.
The team regularly works with insurers and reinsurers, as well as major insured companies and their captive insurers and brokers, such as Friends Provident, Marsh, Willis, Pool Re, Royal London Mutual Insurance Society and Royal and SunAlliance.
Our regulatory group provides risk management advice, as well as advising on all aspects of investigations.
Many of the transactions and cases in which we are involved have an international element. Where appropriate, we call upon the insurance expertise of our colleagues in Hong Kong, Jakarta and Paris and our alliance partners Gleiss Lutz and Stibbe.
Litigation team of the Year
The Lawyer Awards 2007
Herbert Smith - best litigation practice
Vault Guide to the Top 50 UK Law Firms 2007
"The firm is able to leverage off its prowess in commercial litigation to provide a heavyweight team that focuses on the insurance markets and has capacity to handle the most complex of market disputes"
Chambers 2004-2005
"Clients value their 'heavyweight insurance litigation reputation' when using them for complex high-value disputes, believing that 'the brand name makes a difference' "
Chambers 2004-2005
"The firm's mastery of commercial litigation are reflected in its reinsurance capabilities"
Chambers 2004-2005
"That the firm is able to handle such a wide-ranging caseload is testament to the quality of its partners"
Legal 500, 2004
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