Insurance Law

Professional negligence and indemnity: Surrender the lost cause

By Legal Week | August 5, 2010

Solicitors wishing to terminate their retainer with clients intent on pursuing a hopeless case will draw comfort from a recent key decision by the Court of Appeal. It saw the Court support the solicitors' decision to terminate their retainer with their client in light of his desire to advance arguments that were not properly arguable. Richard Buxton (Solicitors) v Mills-Owens [2010] concerned a statutory appeal against the grant of planning permission. Counsel had advised the client that the appeal could only proceed on the basis of a procedural or legal error by the planning inspector and that only one of these grounds had a chance of succeeding.

1 minute read

Legal Week professional indemnity Q&A in association with Travelers

By Legal Week | August 3, 2010

In this video, John Kunzler, a qualified solicitor who is solicitors PI product manager for Travelers, talks to Legal Week editor-in-chief John Malpas about how last year's downturn affected the renewal season for law firms and what issues firms are likely to face in the year ahead.

1 minute read

Sullivan and Macfarlanes lead on $1.3bn insurance takeover bid

By Friederike Heine | August 3, 2010

Sullivan & Cromwell and Macfarlanes have scored lead roles on US private equity group Apollo's $1.3bn (£835m) offer for Brit Insurance. Sullivan is advising Apollo on the bid with a team led by corporate partners Tim Emmerson, Ben Parry and Nikolaos Andronikos, alongside finance partner Neal McKnight and European counsel Rajan Subberwal.

1 minute read

Professional negligence and indemnity: Regulation in the balance

By Legal Week | August 3, 2010

Following on from the Solicitors' Code of Conduct 2007, the implementation of the Legal Services Act 2007 and the development of the Legal Services Board at the end of 2009, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has recently published further plans for regulatory change. These plans are characterised by a new consumer-focused approach and, specifically, the proposed outcomes-focused regulation embodied in the draft code of conduct coming into force on 6 October 2011.

1 minute read

Taylor Wessing adds partner to London insurance team with offshore hire

By Sofia Lind | August 3, 2010

Taylor Wessing has added to its London insurance and reinsurance practice with the hire of new partner. The Anglo-German law firm has hired insurance lawyer Susannah Wakefield from Bermuda-based law firm Attride-Stirling & Woloniecki, where she was a counsel. She joins the insurance and reinsurance team as a partner in the UK top 40 firm's London office.

1 minute read

RSA appoints former Norton Rose lawyer to top legal role

By Legal Week | July 22, 2010

UK insurer RSA has appointed former Norton Rose lawyer Derek Walsh as its new general counsel. In his new role, Walsh will be responsible for leading the legal, group secretarial and group regulatory risk and compliance teams. Walsh, the former general counsel of the Argo Group, has over 15 years experience in the industry, and in addition to Norton Rose has also worked at legacy law firms Pinsent Curtis and McKenna & Co.

1 minute read

Insurer loses legal battle with Law Society

By Mairi MacDonald | July 16, 2010

A Court of Appeal judgment is set to have major implications for insurers seeking access to confidential documents from solicitors that could enable them to refuse indemnity, writes Post. In Quinn Direct Insurance v The Law Society, Quinn had appealed against an earlier High Court decision to refuse the company access to confidential documents relating to a firm of solicitors that was being investigated by the Law Society. In 2007 the Law Society took possession of files and documents relating to the firm as part of a large-scale fraud investigation. Quinn had provided the firm with professional indemnity insurance and was its primary insurer.

1 minute read

Barlows partnership backs deal to acquire Halliwells insurance team

By Suzi Ring | July 16, 2010

Barlow Lyde & Gilbert's partners have backed the proposed deal to acquire Halliwells' insurance team. Barlows partners today (16 July) approved the proposal, which is set to see the firm take on Halliwells' Manchester-based insurance practice, which employs 200 staff. The well-regarded team, which had attracted interest from DWF and Keoghs, boasts a number of major clients including AXA and Chartis. The vote marks the first in a series of deals Halliwells is hoping to secure as it looks to sell off sections of its business after filing notice of intention to appoint an administrator at the end of last month.

1 minute read

Kennedys opens up in Sheffield as Halliwells sell-off nears conclusion

By Suzi Ring | July 14, 2010

Kennedys' new Sheffield office has opened its doors for business ahead of schedule this week in anticipation of an imminent decision on the sell-off of Halliwells' business. The firm originally intended officially open the new office on 31 July, but decided to bring this forward to 12 July, in preparation for the announcement of Halliwells' fate. Twenty of the 70 staff that Kennedys hired from Halliwells in December 2009 have already joined the office, with the remaining 50 expected to move across in the coming weeks.

1 minute read

Insurance firms outpace rest of top 50 once more as revenues climb 8%

By Suzi Ring | July 14, 2010

Insurance firms have bucked the trend of the top 50 as a whole once again this year, with revenues growing by an average of 7.8% and profits per equity partner (PEP) climbing 2.7%. The group was the strongest performing among the ranked firms, being the only category aside from the mid-tier firms to experience turnover growth and far outpacing the all-firm average. Of the five insurance firms in the top 50, four saw a climb in rank in 2009-10.

1 minute read

Daily Report Online

Canal Sues Double-Time, Others Over Insurance Coverage

By ALM Staff | December 23, 2021

This suit was surfaced by Law.com Radar. Read the complaint here.

1 minute read

Daily Report Online

Drew Eckl & Farnham Removes Insurance Coverage Lawsuit Against Travelers, Goosehead

By ALM Staff | December 23, 2021

This suit was surfaced by Law.com Radar. Read the complaint here.

1 minute read

Law.com

10th Cir. Joins Growing List of Appeals Courts Siding With Insurers in COVID-19 Business Interruption Cases

By Allison Dunn | December 22, 2021

"Every circuit to address the issue has held that identical or nearly identical business income provisions did not cover losses covered by COVID closure orders," the 10th Circuit panel ruled.

3 minute read

The Recorder

Allocation Clauses in D&O Policies: Why the Larger Settlement Rule Generally Still Applies

By Pamela Woods | December 22, 2021

Although more D&O insurers are including allocation provisions in their policies that they assert require allocation and specific methodology for doing so, insureds should read such provisions carefully and narrowly to determine whether they, in fact, should limit the insurer's promise to cover "all loss."

8 minute read

New Jersey Law Journal

Cigna Turns to Gibbons to Handle Contract Dispute

By ALM Staff | December 21, 2021

This suit was surfaced by Law.com Radar. Read the document here.

1 minute read

Texas Lawyer

Flood Insurance: A Look Back at 2021 and a Look Ahead to 2022 & Beyond

By Craig Poulton | December 20, 2021

A look at flood devastation and attempts to repair a broken federal flood insurance system.

7 minute read

Texas Lawyer

Embedded Insurance is a Potential Solution for the Underinsured

By David McFarland | December 20, 2021

The financial impact of COVID-19 on small businesses highlights the need for business insurance as a safety net.

5 minute read

Daily Report Online

Travelers Sues Nova, Others Over Insurance Dispute

By ALM Staff | December 18, 2021

This suit was surfaced by Law.com Radar. Read the complaint here.

1 minute read

New Jersey Law Journal

Lindabury's Jay Lavroff on Civility, Social Media Lawsuits and Reading Insurance Policies for Mental Stimulation

By Charles Toutant | December 17, 2021

"Litigating the meaning of the words in an insurance policy is very interesting because the facts of each case create a unique context in which that meaning is determined," Lavroff said.

5 minute read

Law.com

4th Circuit Reinstates Former Sous Chef's Disability Benefits

By Marianna Wharry | December 16, 2021

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has reinstated long-term disability benefits to a former sous chef who was forced to stop working due to a spinal cord infection.

7 minute read