Professional and Management Liabilities: Helping insurers and insureds minimise their exposures
We are experts in a wide range of financial sector professional indemnity claims. Our specialist lawyers and qualified accountants are also well versed in company law and have extensive experience of handling claims that arise from management liabilities. Combining our corporate expertise with legal knowledge allows us to manage claims in a way that helps insurers and insureds minimise their exposures.
We deal with these claims internationally. In addition to the UK, we have experience of legal systems in off-shore jurisdictions including the British Virgin, Cayman and Channel Islands, and on-shore, particularly across Europe, the Middle East – served by our Dubai based lawyers – and Latin America.
We deal with claims involving
Accountants
IFAs
Investment and fund managers
Pensions professionals
Misselling reviews and FCA investigations
Insurance brokers
Solicitors
IT and media professionals
Public officials
Design and Construction Professionals
Professional Indemnity: Helping insurers achieve the best solution with less incidence of litigation
The professional expertise and experience of our team allow us to offer an integrated claims handling service for professions claims. By ensuring that we have all the necessary skills in-house, including qualified solicitors and accountants, we provide a multi-disciplinary approach that minimises spend on other professional input.
When dealing with these claims, we are always aware that the insured’s business may be at stake. We also seek to address any reputational issues effectively. As fellow professionals we are able to understand how an insured’s problem has arisen and then engage with them to resolve the issue.
We take a proactive approach to the investigation and handling of claims aimed at achieving cost effective results and, where appropriate, early resolution. Overall claims spend is always a focus. Some claims are, of course, to be robustly defended and for those matters that do progress to litigation we are accustomed to managing those claims through to resolution. We often work closely with insurers’ appointed solicitors and external counsel, encouraging a collaborative approach to dispute resolution. Our experts provide practical assistance and guidance to insureds and insurers in the pre-action stages of litigation. This includes advice on navigating the Pre-Action Protocol processes for resolving disputes under the Civil Procedure Rules and either drafting correspondence on behalf of insureds or engaging directly with claimants and/or their solicitors.
We frequently participate in mediations and other forms of ADR where this is the best way of resolving a claim. Our experienced staff have excellent communication skills and will defend the insured’s position with tact and tenacity. We are happy to take a lead or supporting role depending on the requirements of the case. Typically, we work in tandem with solicitors where cases are in litigation or arbitration in order to provide fast and effective advice.
Our expertise comes from our professional qualifications and our experience, which is long-standing and wide-ranging.
Our capabilities in the professional indemnity arena
We help defend third party claims against insureds. We assess
the initial complaint and assist with discovery and document
production; we analyse and advise on the quantum providing
insight and recommendations to assist the litigation strategy; we
also assist with the review and preparation of evidence and the
management of other professional experts. Our aim is to help our
clients present the most persuasive case possible based on the
available evidence.
We advise on policy coverage, having expertise in issues such as
year of attachment, the scope of cover under the insuring clause,
aggregation, mitigation costs and the application of exclusions.
We also frequently consider the extent of cover in the context
of FCA and other regulatory investigations. We have extensive
knowledge of Past Business Reviews, typically overseeing the
work being undertaken and working to reconcile the interests
of the regulator and insurers. We do so in the UK and have also
participated in international arbitration proceedings in other
jurisdictions.
Types of management liability claims we deal with:
Directors and officers liability
Employment practices liability
Types of management liability
Warranty and indemnity insurance
For directors and officers claims we work closely with the insured persons, their brokers and counsel to monitor the defence strategies adopted. As well as advising on coverage, we assist insurers in managing defence costs, ensuring those Directors and officers liability.
Our capabilities in the management liability arena
- Advising insurers on complex coverage issues, including year of attachment, aggregation, allocation, and the application of exclusions
- Maintaining bordereaux to manage indemnity payments efficiently within policy limits
- Management and administration of defence costs, including reviewing invoices for reasonableness and ensuring that costs are covered by the policy and remain within appropriate budgets
- Monitoring developments in the underlying litigation or official investigation and working closely with brokers and counsel regarding the defence strategies adopted
- Claims arising under PL extensions
- Facilitating the settlement of claims where appropriate
- Assisting insurers with multiple notifications involving the same insured individuals
- Reporting clearly, with an appropriate level of detail and at appropriate intervals, all agreed in advance with the insurer
- Identifying and dealing with reputational issues, by reference to the policyholder, their directors and insurers
- Managing multiple defence counsel to streamline the defence of claims and to avoid the duplication of costs
- Promoting cooperation between insured individuals in instances of divergence and conflicting defences
It is our unique ability to blend accountancy and legal skills that
gives us the edge. We have extensive experience of regulatory
investigations in the financial sector both in the UK and overseas.
We are experienced in HMRC and CMA investigations into
directors' conduct. We assist insurers with Environment Agency
claims against both individual directors and corporate entities. We
also assist insurers regularly with off-shore trust matters, minority
shareholder disputes, claims against corporate service providers
and claims involving directors' duties in the context of insolvencies
and administrations.
Members of our team have acted as expert witnesses in a range
of disputes. We fully understand the extensive work involved
in preparing expert testimony and can communicate complex
information confidently and concisely.
