Fenchurch Law's Chiltern 50 Charity Walk
On the 23rd of September 2023, employees of Fenchurch Law will be taking on the challenge of the Chiltern 50.
The Chiltern 50 is a charity walk through the Chiltern Hills, a route that follows the Thames to Henley Bridge, then out into the picturesque countryside on Shakespears Way, Icknield Way, and Chiltern Way. The team will walk a total distance of 50km (31 miles), with over 900 metres of climb.
Fenchurch Law are proud to support MIND, a charity that's doing incredible work in destigmatizing conversations around mental health and providing essential support to those in need. By participating in this charity walk, we're actively contributing to a cause that resonates deeply with us.
Any donations would be very much appreciated, and if you’d like to donate, please just click on the following link: https://www.justgiving.com/team/fenchurchlaw
Stay tuned for updates on our official channels and social media platforms as we prepare to embark on this challenge.
Insurance News, views and more: July 2023
Insurance News, views and more - from Fenchurch Law
JULY 2023
Introduction
Welcome to the latest Fenchurch Law newsletter: concise, topical and often opinionated articles on the insurance disputes market, all from a pro-policyholder perspective.
In this edition, Anthony McGeough and Joanna Grant look at a recent Covid-19 BI decision, as they examine the court’s judgment in Bellini (N/E) Ltd trading as Bellini v Brit UW Limited [2023] EWHC 1545 (Comm).
Elsewhere, Dru Corfield looks at AI technology, its legal implications and how it might affect the insurance industry.
Rob Goodship analyses the recent judgment in FM Conway Limited v The Rugby Football Union, Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance PLC, Clark Smith Partnership Limited.
In our “100 Cases Every Policyholder Needs to Know” series, read why we think Rashid v Direct Savings Limited [2022] 8 WLUK 108 was an ugly one.
Lastly, thank you to our broker partners that attended our Northern Coverage Symposium earlier this month. Find out more about our upcoming symposia in the events section below.
I hope you enjoy reading Insurance News and Views and that you look out for future issues in your inbox.
David Pryce
Founder and Managing Partner
Viewpoint
Not so peachy – a disappointing Covid-19 decision for policyholders
Bellini (N/E) Ltd trading as Bellini v Brit UW Limited [2023] EWHC 1545 (Comm)
In a month where Covid-19 decisions are coming in thick and fast, policyholders will be disappointed by the most recent judgment concerning a disease wording.
On this occasion the policyholder, Bellini (N/E) Ltd, was issued with a policy by its insurer, Brit UW Limited, that contained an extension to business interruption cover for business interruption caused by damage arising from a notifiable disease manifested by any person whilst in the premises or within a 25-mile radius.
Read more here.
AI: The Wizard behind the Data Curtain?
“What is Chat GPT?” is a frequently heard question this year. “What is AI? How does it work?” is occasionally the follow up. And for the sceptics, “Will it take my job? Is it dangerous?” One cheerful BBC News headline recently read “Artificial Intelligence could lead to extinction, experts warn”.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning Technologies (MLTs) have rapidly gone from the stuff of science fiction to real world usage and deployment. But how will they affect the insurance industry, what are the legal implications, and is the whole issue really that much of a concern?
Read more here.
Worth a Try? – judgment handed down on Rugby Football Union appeal
FM Conway Limited v The Rugby Football Union, Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance PLC, Clark Smith Partnership Limited
The Court of Appeal has handed down its judgment following FM Conway’s appeal of the High Court’s decision that it did not enjoy the same level of cover as its employer. Our previous article commenting on the first instance judgment can be found here.
The decision regards the potentially complicated factual and legal issues about the nature and extent of insurance cover obtained by one party on behalf of another.
Read more here.
Top 100 cases - The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
We continue our “100 Cases Every Policyholder Needs to Know” feature – our opinionated and practical guide to the most important insurance decisions relating to the London/English insurance markets, all looked at from a pro-policyholder perspective. As a reminder, we call them:
- “The Good” – cases that are correctly decided and positive for policyholders.
- “The Bad” – decisions that are bad for policyholders, wrongly decided and in need of being overturned.
- “The Ugly” – cases that can trip up even the most honest policyholder with the most genuine claim. Bad for policyholders but (even to our policyholder-tinted eyes) correctly decided.
The latest case we’re looking is an “Ugly one” – Rashid v Direct Savings Limited [2022] 8 WLUK 108 – Read here.
Events
2023 Coverage Symposia
Thank you to our broker partners that attended our Northern Coverage Symposium in Leeds earlier this month. If you missed the event, don’t worry, we have two more symposia events later this year.
Through a series of informative talks, engaging panel sessions, and valuable networking opportunities, attendees will gain the knowledge and insights to confidently guide clients through common coverage problems.
Upcoming Symposia Events:
- Southern Coverage Symposium
- Date: 23 November 2023
- Location: The Ned London
- Belfast Coverage Symposium
- Date: 7 December 2023
- Location: Grand Central Belfast
And finally…
We want to know your views. If you have a question or an interesting point that you’d like to share about all things insurance related, please let us know by emailing info@fenchurchlaw.co.uk
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Fenchurch Law bolsters insurance disputes team in London with three new hires
Fenchurch Law, the UK’s leading firm working exclusively for policyholders and brokers on complex insurance disputes, has announced the expansion of its team in London with three new appointments to its coverage disputes team; Michael Robin, Dru Corfield and Grace Williams.
Michael Robin joins as Partner, bringing with him over 45 years' experience in handling complex claims across the international insurance market. Michael joins Fenchurch Law from global legal services firm DWF, where he was Partner in the Professional Liability and Commercial Insurance Disputes team, and is well known in the insurance market as a founding partner of Robin Simon.
Dru Corfield joins as an Associate Solicitor from Elborne Mitchell LLP, where he was a Trainee Solicitor. Dru graduated from McGill University, Montreal, Canada with a degree in History and Political Science, before achieving a distinction in his LPC at BPP, Holborn.
Grace Williams also joins as an Associate Solicitor, from New Zealand law firm Robertsons, where she specialised in insurance litigation. Prior to this, Grace began her career at law firm Russel McVeagh as an Associate, after achieving a Bachelor of Laws with Honours First Class/Bachelor of Science (Genetics) from Otago University, New Zealand.
The new appointments will bolster the firm’s insurance disputes team, which was set up to help level the playing field between policyholders and their insurers, when coverage disputes arise
David Pryce, commented: “The demand for policyholder-focused insurance disputes specialists is growing all the time. We intend to continue investing in our team in order to continue to help policyholders challenge their insurers on a level playing field, when they feel their insurance claims have been incorrectly turned down, and Michael, Grace, and Dru are exciting additions to our market leading team”.
Michael Robin added: “I’m delighted to be joining such an exciting, growing team of insurance dispute experts at Fenchurch Law. I look forward to applying my in-depth knowledge of the global insurance market to helping support policyholders across the UK and internationally.”
Dru Corfield added: “I was attracted to Fenchurch Law because of the size, purpose and direction of the business. Despite being a fairly young firm, it has quickly established a very strong reputation within the insurance market for first-rate protection of policyholders’ interests. Fenchurch Law’s core values were also an important draw for me, its entrepreneurial culture is one in which colleagues are empowered to think outside the box to get the best possible results for their clients.”
Grace Williams added: “I wanted to work at a firm which focused solely on insurance law. I am excited to work alongside solicitors that are experts in their field and to assist policyholders with coverage disputes.”
Fenchurch Law boosts insurance disputes team with double hire
Fenchurch Law, the UK’s leading firm working exclusively for policyholders and brokers on complex insurance disputes, has announced the expansion of its team with two new appointments to its Leeds office; Catrin Wyn Williams and Chloe Vine.
Catrin Wyn Williams joins as an Associate Solicitor, bringing with her experience of representing insurers in a variety of areas includingProperty Damage and Professional Indemnity. Catrin was previously a solicitor at BLM, and experience of working in house at Hiscox
Chloe Vine joins as a Trainee Solicitor from a nationwide insurance broker, where she was the Group Claims Technical Manager. Chloe has experience handling all aspects of insurance claims, including taking the lead in relation to coverage disputes.
The new appointments will bolster the business’ team in Leeds, which was set up to support the insurance broking community in the North of England, and their policyholders.
Daniel Robin, Senior Associate and Head of Leeds Office commented:
“In a short space of time we have built the leading policyholder practice in the North of England, providing the same high quality specialist services as our colleagues in our City office. Catrin and Chloe come from different professional backgrounds, but both bring with them an excellent combination of insurance and legal knowledge that will be invaluable in our mission to level the playing field for policyholders.”
Catrin Wyn Williams added:
“Fenchurch Law impressed me from the outset; not only for their commitment to assisting policyholders in challenging coverage disputes, but also for their progressive and unique values. For me, this set Fenchurch Law apart from other law firms.”
Chloe Vine concluded: “I was attracted to Fenchurch Law for their policyholder-focused approach. Having worked for insurance brokers’ previously, this company mission really resonated with my own ambition to better equip policyholders in disputes with insurers.”
Fenchurch Law launches new Reinsurance and International Risks practice
Fenchurch Law, the leading UK legal firm working exclusively for policyholders and brokers on insurance coverage disputes, has launched a new practice group focused on Reinsurance & International Risks. The new group will focus on representing non-UK policyholders in complex and high value insurance disputes under policies placed either directly into the London Market, or placed locally and then reinsured, into the London Market.
Led by the firm’s Managing Partner, David Pryce, the new practice group will also take instructions from captives, and from non-UK insurers which have coverage disputes with London Market insurers.
Commenting on the launch of the new practice group, managing partner, David Pryce explained:
“The London Market has a long and well-established reputation for paying claims. However, it is a fact of business life that occasionally disagreements do arise between policyholders and insurers, particularly when losses are large.
“We’ve launched this new dedicated practice group to reflect the increasingly international nature of our work, which is itself a reflection of the way the London Market continues to be a global leader in writing bespoke and complex risks. In doing so, we’re furthering our purpose of levelling the playing field between policyholders and their insurers, not just in the UK, but across the world”.
Visit the Reinsurance & International Risks page for more information.
Fenchurch Law joins City law firms in commitment to levelling up on social mobility in the profession
A group of trailblazing City law firms including Fenchurch Law Ltd have published a pioneering action plan to boost social mobility and widen opportunities within the legal sector and launched a Levelling Up Law Coalition to deliver on the recommendations.
Fenchurch Law and fourteen other City of London Law Society (CLLS) member firms have been working with Rt Hon Justine Greening’s Social Mobility Pledge on a strategy to open up the sector to a diverse range of backgrounds.
The firms have collaborated with a number of universities across the regions, including Bradford, Staffordshire, Lincoln, York St John and Liverpool John Moores in a bid to create new and wider pathways from higher education into the legal sector.
The action plan sets out recommendations for leading law firms to work together on solutions that benefit the whole legal profession. Research shows that more diverse companies are now more likely than ever to outperform less diverse peers on profitability* and the plan looks at how the profession can tap into talent from a range of backgrounds.
The project has been led by former Government Minister, Member of Parliament and city Solicitor, Seema Kennedy OBE. Fenchurch Law and the other firms now plan to go further and play a leading role in Britain’s national recovery from coronavirus, opening up greater access to careers in the legal sector.
The publication of the action plan also marks the launch of the group of firms forming a Levelling Up Law Coalition, coming together to take leadership on the levelling up agenda through the lens of the legal sector.
Seema Kennedy said: “The pandemic has caused many young people to lose jobs or have their future opportunities restricted. Meanwhile, there is now a building demand and need for reskilling and career changes.
“What is now abundantly clear is that levelling up needs to go far beyond just government action, we need businesses to play their role if we are to succeed. Through this action plan, CLLS members have shown that they are committed to playing their part in boosting opportunity and social mobility as part of our recovery.”
David Pryce, Managing Partner, Fenchurch Law “Levelling Up Law is the most effective initiative that I’ve come across with regard to promoting social mobility within the legal profession. The project’s goal of creating true equality of opportunity is vitally important not just in terms of basic fairness, but also because law firms have for too long drawn on an artificially limited pool of talent.
“If the UK is to retain its place as a leading global legal market, it is essential we start to recruiting based on potential, and stop favouring people based on their background and upbringing. Like most firms we have further to go on our journey to creating a truly diverse team, but I have no doubt that we will only be able to unlock our full potential once we do”.
Fenchurch Law awarded “Gold” for client care experience
We’re delighted to announce that Fenchurch Law has achieved a ‘gold’ award from the independent Investor in Customers (IIC) assessment process for a fourth year running.
IIC is an independent client experience agency which conducts client experience assessments, helps develop insights into client satisfaction, and awards annual accreditations. IIC also compares the views of staff and senior management to identify how embedded the customer is within the company’s thinking.
Comments from Fenchurch Law clients included:
“They have always been a solid, consistently high-quality business, who add genuine value for policyholders”.
“I have been very impressed by Fenchurch Law in all my dealings with them. I particularly value the fact that, unlike the majority of the large law firms, they never act for insurers and accordingly there is no conflict of interest”.
“Fenchurch Law is clearly passionate about what it does. They have given invaluable advice to me and my clientele and I would recommend and have recommended them to many clients and contacts”.
“Great to have a customer facing law firm with the level of expertise Fenchurch Law has”.
“The service that they offer is a real value add to my clients so a great strategic partnership”.
Sandy Bryson, Director at IIC, commented: “Investor in Customers has been working with Fenchurch Law for 4 consecutive years. Every year, the firm has demonstrated that it provides its clients with an exceptional experience attaining IIC’s highest award for client experience, Gold, each time. There is, and always has been, a genuine passion and culture within the whole Fenchurch Law team to continue to improve its service to all its clients and to consistently deliver the highest quality outcomes for them. It is such a pleasure to work with the firm.”
David Pryce, Managing Director at Fenchurch Law added: “Providing an exceptional service is one of our key principles. Improving outcomes for our policyholder clients is number one priority and we are confident that the IIC process will help us improve every aspect of our service in the future”.
Webinar - Virtual Coverage Symposium
A series of short topical sessions on a variety of insurance coverage issues. This virtual event is aimed at providing brokers with information on common coverage issues and tips on how to avoid them arising.
Session 1: Excess layer insurance
Session 2: Key exclusions in Construction All Risks insurance
Session 3: Reinstatement: when is it the appropriate measure of indemnity?
Session 4: Cover for COVID-19 under BI & other policies
Fenchurch Law expands property coverage disputes team
Fenchurch Law, the leading UK firm working exclusively for policyholders and brokers on complex insurance disputes, has appointed Nicola Bowen as an associate in its Property Risks practice group.
Nicola has spent a number of years working in insurance litigation with a specific focus on property related matters. She has acted for leading insurers on first party and liability claims disputes and complex defendant matters. She has also acted jointly for insurers and their insureds in a number of large subrogated recovery actions.
Nicola joins Fenchurch Law from BLM, where she was a solicitor in their property damage team and was previously a property damage solicitor with DAC Beachcroft.
Joanna Grant, partner and head of the Property Risks group practice at Fenchurch Law, said: We are delighted to welcome Nicola whose dedicated property damage litigation experience expands the coverage disputes capabilities the team can offer our clients.”
Nicola Bowen is an associate at Fenchurch Law