Past events

Whose agent is the broker?
Binding the client: the broker’s authority and knowledge.
Duties: contract, tort and fiduciary duties.
Broker remuneration.
The Insurance Distribution Directive.

Jeffrey Gruder QC is widely recognised a leading silk at the Commercial Bar. He is “An extremely able and thorough advocate with an extraordinary knowledge of the law,” as well as being “A lawyer with a nice persuasive advocacy style who is a great cross-examiner.” He is client-friendly, has a high profile practice and a wide array of experience in international litigation and arbitration.

“In Aldcroft v International Cotton Association [2017] EWHC 62 Comm (30 March 2017), a deputy judge in the Commercial Court said “it is clear that the risk of a perception of lack of impartiality resulting from repeat appointments is a legitimate concern in the international arbitration community”, and and held that it was reasonable for the Cotton association to seek to limit repeat Appointments of the same arbitrator by the same party.

I will explore the extent to which repeat appointments of the same arbitrator by the same party may also be a potential problem in insurance arbitration as well as other recent cases which relate to impartiality of arbitrators.”

Overview

When the UK ceases to be a member of the EU UK insurers will lose the passport rights within the EU single market which they currently enjoy under the Solvency II Directive regime. EU member state insurers may lose the reciprocal automatic authorisation rights for insurance business which they wish to carry on in the UK. What legal mechanisms will UK insurers be able to adopt to continue writing business currently written by virtue of a single market passport? If there is no comprehensive UK-EU agreement to what extent will they be able to rely on “equivalence” provisions or the Solvency II “third country” provisions? How will insurers having EU member home states be able to continue to write UK business?

To what extent will the Solvency II regime continue in practice to inform the prudential regulation and supervision of insurers in the UK, or the new Insurance Distribution Directive the marketing and sale of insurance products?

What practical steps are UK insurers (or their group parents) planning or already taking to adjust to changing legal framework after Brexit?

What rules will the English courts apply for recognising the jurisdiction of English or foreign courts to hear and determine cases involving cross-border elements; or for determining the substantive law applicable to them?

Our panellists will consider these and other questions.

Sir Richard Aikens is a recently retired Lord Justice of Appeal and now sits as an arbitrator in commercial cases. He previously practised at the commercial bar and on his appointment to the High Court was a judge of the Commercial and Admiralty Courts. He has extensive experience of insurance matters and is a Visiting Professor at both King’s College and Queen Mary University of London. He is a past President of BILA

Julian Burling is a barrister practising at Serle Court Chambers, predominantly in insurance law and regulation. He is the author of, or contributor to, several books on those matters. He was previously Counsel to Lloyd’s. He is a past Chairman and currently a Vice-President of BILA.

Sean McGovern is ‎Chief Compliance Officer and Head of Regulatory and Government Affairs at XL Catlin. He was previously Director and General Counsel at Lloyd’s, also becoming Chief Risk Officer and a member of the Lloyd’s Franchise Board. He is a non-executive board member of TheCityUK. He is the current Deputy President of BILA.

Following short presentations Lady Justice Gloster, the President of BILA, will invite questions and comments for the panel from the audience. In the Court of Appeal, where she is Vice-President of the Civil Division, Gloster LJ has delivered a number of insurance related judgments. Before her appointment to the Court of Appeal, she was a judge of the Commercialand Admiralty Courts. She previously practised at the Commercial and Chancery Bars, where she appeared in numerous cases involving insurance and reinsurance insolvency matters, including Bermuda Fire & Marine and EMLICO.

Registration will commence at 5.00pm when tea and coffee will be provided. The admission charge is £25 for BILA members and £40 for non-BILA members.

Refreshments after the formal proceedings of the Symposium are sponsored by Clyde & Co LLP and are without further charge.

Abstract: In recent years, the London Insurance Market has seen a drive towards modernisation, with an aim to maintain the market’s competitiveness while at the same time increasing contract certainty for insurers and assureds alike. Within this context, the market has sought to harness electronic communications to support the placement process and maintain, throughout the placement period, an up-to-date record of discussions and negotiations. The most recent development in this regard, the PPL, has the potential to be a very significant step towards this objective. This lecture will examine the potential legal implications of these developments for the law relating to insurance contracts.

Bio:　Dr Miriam Goldby is Reader in Shipping, Insurance and Commercial Law at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies (CCLS) at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), director of Centre’s LLM in　International Shipping Law in London, of its Dual LLM in Commercial Law (Singapore and London) offered in association with Singapore Management University and of the School of Law’s MA in Law by Research. She is also Deputy Director of the Centre’s　Insurance Law Institute and Deputy Editor of the British Insurance Law Association Journal.　Prior to joining Queen Mary, Miriam conducted research as a Visiting Scholar at George Washington University in Washington DC, USA. Between September 2007 and December 2010 she held a lectureship post at the University of Surrey where she taught Contract Law, Commercial Law and Banking Law. She read for her PhD degree at University College London where she also held the post of teaching fellow between January 2004 and August 2007, and taught on the LLM Banking Law and LLM International Trade Law courses. She has published extensively on various areas of commercial and financial law. Since November 2012 she has participated in the work of UNCITRAL’s Working Group IV (Electronic Commerce) as delegate and as a member of the Experts Group and contributed to the drafting of an instrument on Electronic Transferable Records. She is the author of Electronic Documents in Maritime Trade: Law and Practice (OUP, 2013).

This lecture will address the following points:

• Background to and rationale for S. 13 A.
• Reasonable time – Factors to take into account; How long is “reasonable” in practice ?
• Limitation
• Contracting Out
• Damages
• Principles and basis of assessment
• Practical issues and considerations for the London Market

The use of warranty and indemnity insurance as a way of managing risk in M&A transactions continues to increase.

This talk will look at:
• trends and learnings in relation to underlying warranty claims;
• the way in which W&I insurance is structured;
• innovations in the W&I market; and
• W&I insurance claims.

Our speakers are Richard Wise, a Partner at Addleshaw Goddard LLP, whose insurance practice focuses on the representation of policyholders, and Anka Taylor, Director of Transaction Liability at Aon UK Limited, who as a qualified solicitor had 10 years as a Lloyds’ underwriter and now specialises in placement of M&A related insurance at Aon.

https://bila.org.uk/resources/M&A Risk Management Slides.pptx

Synopsis to follow…

CPD learning Objectives:

• History of development of aggregation clause in Minimum Terms and Conditions for insurance of solicitors
• Overview of current aggregation clause (clause 2.5)
• Analysis of decisions of Teare J, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court in AIG v Woodman on the meaning of “similar acts or omissions in a series of related matters or transactions” (clause 2.5(a)(iv)).
• Implications for other aggregation clauses.

The London market is increasingly generating new business through delegated authority underwriting, whether by way of binding authorities, broker facilities, lineslips or consortia. This talk will look at:

• the way in which these arrangements are structured,
• the issues of authority, duty of care, and reinsurance,
• the impact of the Insurance Act 2015, and
• the effect of the expiry of the Insurance Block Exemption Regulation on 31 March 2017.

Our speaker is David Kendall, a partner at Cooley (UK) LLP, a member of the BILA Committee, and Visiting Professor in the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London.

On Wednesday 25th January 2017, BILA is jointly hosting a seminar on Collective Redress with the US Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR). Refreshments sponsored by the ILR and Harbour Litigation Funding

Our speaker is Mark Cannon QC leading counsel for the successful appellant insurer in Impact Funding Solutions –v- AIG Europe in the Supreme Court.

Mark has practiced in the fields of insurance and professional liability since joining 4 New Square 30 years ago. He is co-author of Cannon & McGurk on Professional Indemnity Insurance (OUP, 2nd edition 2016).

Overview

While the issue before the Supreme Court in Impact Funding Solutions –v- AIG Europe [2016] UKSC 57 was narrow, the decision is of wider importance, both for the construction of insurance policies complying with the SRA Minimum Terms and Conditions for Solicitors and for insurance policies more generally. The majority rejected the insured’s argument that clauses excluding heads of liability from cover should be construed narrowly or contra proferentem and held that they should be given their natural meaning consistent with the purpose of the policy and its heading (“Solicitors Professional Liability”).