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Insurance & Reinsurance

What our barristers offer

39 Essex Chambers’ barristers regularly advise both insurers and the insured.

We advise on coverage and claims arising out of a wide range of insurance policies, such as business interruption, contractors’ risk, employers’ liability, environmental risk, financial and credit risk, fire, flood, life, permanent health, professional indemnity, public liability and war and terrorist risk. Many of the claims involve allegations of material non-disclosure and fraud.

Construction

Members of Chambers regularly advise both insurers and the insured in relation to coverage disputes arising out of construction and engineering projects, dealing with issues such as aggregation and non-disclosure.

Property Damage

Members of Chambers are regularly instructed in relation to substantial and complex claims arising out of property damage caused by fire, flood, pollution and other risks. These claims arise in a variety of ways. Often brought by owners against contractors, sub-contractors and construction professionals, they may also be made against the manufacturers and suppliers of equipment or products said to be implicated in the fire or flood and against adjoining landowners or utilities companies. Chambers has experience of all of these types of claim.

Recent significant cases include:

Laker Vent Engineering Ltd v Templeton Insurance Ltd [2009] EWCA Civ 62, Court of Appeal, advising and representing the insured in a dispute over the insurer’s claim to avoid a legal expenses insurance policy for material non-disclosure and that the claim was notified late.
McCall v Poulton [2009] 1 CMLR 45 advising and representing insurers in a reference to the European Court concerning payment of subrogated claims under the Second Motor Insurance Directive.
Field v CSI and Phoenix Life Limited ET 2317956/2007 representing a respondent in the first substantive case concerning the interpretation of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 as regards the provision of group income insurance.
Shepherd & Neame v EDF Energy Networks (SPN) Plc [2008] Bus LR D43 (TCC) advising in relation to the use of the disclosed experts reports of another party that withdrew from the proceedings.
Kajima UK Engineering Ltd v Underwriter Insurance Company Ltd [2008] EWHC 83 (TCC) advising and representing underwriters in a dispute as to whether notification had been given to professional indemnity insurers under a “claims made policy”.
Advising in a £150m insurance and reinsurance dispute arising from incidents of radioactive contamination at Thorp nuclear plant.
Bee v Jenson (No 1) [2007] Lloyd’s Rep IR 451 (Comm) and (No 2) [2008] Lloyd’s Rep IR 221. Advising and representing insurers in long running dispute dealing with the capacity of legal expenses insurers to act as agents for receipt of global offers of amends and insurers obligation in making subrogated claims to give credit for commission payments from suppliers.
Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery v. Duffy Construction Ltd & another (2007) BLR 216 advising and representing the contractors in a dispute about co-insurance and the meaning of “flood” and “burst” in the insurance policy.

Who to contact

Niki Merison is the Senior Practice Manager for the Insurance & Reinsurance team and will, along with the clerking team below, be able to help you with any questions.

Niki Merison