About dispute insurance
When is dispute insurance purchased
Commercial dispute insurance can be purchased at any time after a legal claim has started.
Who buys dispute insurance?
Dispute insurance is bought by both claimants and defendants, although a successful outcome is harder to define for defendants.
Dispute insurance is available to any litigator but is most typically taken out by serial litigators such as litigation funders, banks and listed companies.
It is also commonly taken out by claimants in group litigation and class actions.
Dispute insurance can be taken out however a case is funded, whether the party is paying all its own bills, has involved a litigation funder or asked its solicitors to act under a conditional fee agreement (CFA) or a damages-based agreement (DBA).
Underwriting criteria
We insure all types of commercial disputes and arbitration claims (other than tax, defamation and bodily injury claims) regardless of the stage reached.
Our limits of indemnity range from £150,000 to £25m, unless the policy is part of a co-insurance arrangements, when there is no upper limit.
The case must have good prospects of success and the proposer or a third-party funder must have the funds to pay the premium and go to trial.
The case and the legal representative(s) must be domiciled in one of the following jurisdictions: UK, Channel Islands, Cayman Islands, Bermuda (on a non-admitted basis), any other country where the insurer can issue dispute insurance policies, subject to prior approval, such as Australia or New Zealand.
We will consider retrospective cover and are willing to consider co-insurance, excess insurance and top-up insurance. We will not consider a proposal if the case is too close to trial.
To apply for a quote, a proposal form and supporting papers regarding the dispute should be assembled by the broker or party’s solicitors and provided to us.
Premiums and premium payment structures
The limits of indemnity are tailored to the requirements of each case. Premiums are priced by reference to the risk and dealt with on a case-by-case basis depending on the submission received. Premiums are not calculated differently because of the status of the insured such as being a corporate or litigation funder.
We have a flexible approach to premium payments that can be structured to suit the insured.
Common premium payment structures are a deposit premium paid on inception, with a deferred and contingent premium paid from the recoveries upon a successful outcome, or staged premiums paid in stages such as on inception, on disclosure and 60 days before trial.
