The recent rise in extortive cybercrime has caused great concern among policy makers. There is a common perception that cyber insurance has failed to encourage corporate customers to invest sufficiently in their cybersecurity and resilience. Moreover, insurance has been accused of fuelling the ransomware epidemic by funding ever higher ransoms, handling negotiations and facilitating payments. But is it realistic to expect that insurers contain the problem of cybercrime, absolving governments of the responsibility to act? This talk explores under what conditions competing private insurers can jointly create sustainable insurance products that serve both the needs of their customers and the public interest. Evidence from other insurance markets suggests that a fully private regime is unlikely for cyber insurance. Instead, a future regime will probably take the form of a public-private partnership, with governments providing assistance to coordinate actions, contain criminal threats, or insure systemic risks.
Anja Shortland is Professor of Political Economy at King’s College, London. Anja studies private governance in the world’s trickiest markets: hostages, fine art, and antiquities—and how people live, trade, and invest in complex and hostile territories. She has published widely on the subject of maritime crime and was part of the World Bank team developing land-side approaches to Somali piracy. Her book Kidnap: Inside the Ransom Business (OUP 2019) examines the role of insurance in ordering the market for hostages. Lost Art (Unicorn 2021) studies how insurers created sophisticated institutions to reduce the profitability of art crime, strengthen the property rights of former owners, and facilitate amicable resolutions between current and former owners.
James Davey is Professor of Insurance & Commercial Law within Bristol Law School at the University of Bristol. He recently joined Bristol Law School moving from Southampton University. His research and teaching interests lie in insurance and commercial law generally. He is currently Deputy President of the British Insurance Law Association (BILA).
This lecture will consider key developments in insurance and marine insurance law during the past twelve months, with discussion of litigation relating to business interruption insurance and COVID; fair presentation of the risk; interpretation of commercial insurance contracts, and actions under the Third Party (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010. On the regulatory side, consideration will be given to the FCA proposal for a new ‘Consumer Duty’ regarding fair value.
An introduction into the mechanics of disputes funding and how disputes funders interact with the insurance market, followed by some real-life examples of funding resolutions and forecasts for future trends.
An introduction into the mechanics of disputes funding and how disputes funders interact with the insurance market, followed by some real-life examples of funding resolutions and forecasts for future trends.
Fiona Heyes
Fiona is the Head of Litigation at Augusta and leads the team undertaking diligence on cases prior to investment and the monitoring of those cases to eventual resolution. She is also chair of Augusta’s investment committee as well as being responsible for communications with investors. In her personal capacity, Fiona has worked on a wide variety of cases including investor state arbitrations, breach of contract disputes, professional negligence claims and large multi-party claims.
Prior to joining Augusta, Fiona was a Partner at Plexus Law and before that she was a Partner at Pinsent Masons for many years specialising in a wide range of commercial disputes with particular expertise in professional indemnity claims.
Sean McGuiness
Sean is an Investment Manager specialising in high value international arbitration and cross-border litigation, with a particular focus on the energy and natural resources and financial services sectors. He is responsible for identifying claims and developing funding structures for general commercial disputes. Sean’s focus on commercial disputes in energy and natural resources and financial services Enables Augusta to address the particular risks, commercial challenges and complex issues faced by clients operating in these sectors globally.
Prior to joining Augusta, Sean worked in the international dispute resolution team at DLA Piper. Sean worked on a wide variety of claims involving parties across the globe
Come and meet other young insurance professionals over drinks and canapés by joining the BILA YP Committee for their summer social networking event.
The evening will be a great opportunity to meet (in person!) other young professionals working in insurance law both across the market and in private practice.
In this seminar Nick Bird looks at the key developments in professional indemnity insurance for solicitors including a review of the MTC, observations on the key issues affecting the market, and the latest case law affecting policy terms.
Always Look on The Bright Side of Life – an overview of the life insurance sector
- What is life insurance and how does it differ from indemnity insurance
- Insurable interest
- Assignment
- Use of Life Insurance as an investment tool
- Use of Life Insurance in tax affairs
- Presentation of the Risk
- Common coverage disputes
Manoj Vaghela is a partner in Charles Russell Speechlys’ Litigation Dispute Resolution team. He specialises in handling complex and high value disputes, often with an international element and usually involving insurance.
He has led and managed teams of lawyers from various countries on complex multi-party and multi-jurisdictional insurance and reinsurance disputes arising out of Life Insurance, Business Interruption Insurance, Bermuda Form Insurance, Clinical Trials, Cyber Liability, Construction All Risks, Professional Liability, Management Liability, D&O, Commercial Crime, Trade Credit and Product Recall.
Manoj specialises in shareholder disputes and is a specialist on product safety. He has worked with a consortium of leading academics and research scientists on the GUIDEnano project for the European Union investigating the safety aspects of nanotechnology.
The session will focus on:
The reinsurance of captive and fronting insurers give rise to complex legal issues. These include duties of fair presentation of the risk to the captive/front and to the reinsurer, the operation of cut-through clauses, and the impact on the reinsurance of the original insured’s and insurer’s obligations under the direct insurance. The lecture will address these and other issues.
Peter MacDonald Eggers QC is a barrister practising at 7 King’s Bench Walk in London specialising in all aspects of commercial law, with a particular emphasis on insurance and reinsurance. Peter practised as a solicitor before being called to the Bar by the Middle Temple in 1999. He was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 2011. He is co-author of Good Faith and Insurance Contracts and Carver on Charterparties, author of Deceit: The Lie of the Law and The Vitiation of Contractual Consent, and a Contributing Editor of Chitty on Contracts. He teaches at University College London and King’s College London. Peter is a Deputy Judge of the High Court and sits as an arbitrator. Peter has most recently appeared as counsel in Enemalta v Standard Club Asia, Axis Corporate Capital v ABSA Group, Aegean Baltic Bank v Renzlor Shipping, Generali Italia v Pelagic Fisheries and Aspen Underwriting v Credit Europe. Peter is currently Chair of BILA.
Colin Edelman QC and Andrew Burns QC in conversation about some of the new cases and issues covered in the 2021 edition of their book.
- Reinsurance aggregation
- What are the new lessons still being learned from WTC 9/11 claims?
- What are some of the reinsurance issues which arises from Covid claims and the Arch judgment?
- Reinsurance allocation
-
- Equitas v MMI – the court’s approach to spiking of reinsurance claims
- Whether a duty of good faith should be implied into reinsurance policies
- Teal v Berkeley – exhaustion of policies using principles of contractual construction and commerciality
Colin Edelman QC is widely recognised as the pre-eminent insurance and reinsurance silk in the UK, rated as a star individual by the directories and winning Silk of the Year on numerous occasions. He specialises in high value complex commercial disputes and has appeared in most of the leading insurance cases in the Supreme Court in recent years. He acts and advises in high profile matters affecting the London and international insurance markets, including disputes arising out of most of the major natural disasters and financial collapses of the last decade. He sat as a deputy High Court Judge for a number of years, is a highly respected arbitrator and is Chairman of the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund.
Andrew Burns QC is Head of Chambers at Devereux Chambers, specialising in insurance and reinsurance, employment law and injunctions. Andrew acts for a range of insurers and policyholders in coverage disputes and policy interpretation points. He specialises in employers’ liability (appearing in the Employers’ Liability Policy Trigger Litigation and Redman v Zurich) and issues arising from PHI and other employment related insurance. He has long experience in aggregation disputes appearing in Simmonds v Gammell and Countrywide v Marshall.
The Law of Reinsurance (OUP, 3rd Edition, 2021) is a specialist and focussed text on reinsurance law, uncluttered by repetition of general insurance principles. It offers comprehensive but concise coverage of issues from definition and purpose to types of reinsurance and analysis of controversial and undecided issues. The new edition considers the impact of the Insurance Act 2015 on reinsurance litigation and arbitration – particularly reinsurance non-disclosure, warranties and remedies. It discusses reinsurance spiking and allocation to policy years, ascertainment of loss, aggregation and the duty of good faith in exercising a reinsurer’s discretion.
The Law of Reinsurance, 3rd edition book can be purchased using the following link which includes an applied discount.
The Law of Reinsurance, 3rd Edition – Colin Edelman, QC and Andrew Burns QC
Martin Moore QC will examine the current state of the law on Part VII insurance business transfers following the Court of Appeal judgment plus a few observations on possible future trends.
Described in Chambers and Partners as “An adviser of the highest quality on company matters, who is regularly instructed on some of the largest and most complicated takeovers and transactions”/
Martin is a leading Silk for company law litigation and advice, corporate finance, financial services and insolvency.
He has particular expertise in large-scale, complex corporate transactions and reorganisations (including takeovers and mergers), schemes of arrangement, and schemes for the transfer of insurance, and banking business (Part VII transfers).