Southern Coverage Symposium 2024
We are delighted to announce the return of our Southern Coverage Symposium. Join us on 14th November at The Merchant Taylors’ Hall for an insightful full-day event.
The Symposium commences with registration and breakfast at 09:30am, followed by interactive workshops and talks covering key cases that have influenced the insurance disputes landscape in recent years. The final talk will conclude at 4.30pm.
Gain the knowledge and insights necessary to confidently guide your clients through common coverage problems. Register your place today!
Location - Merchant Taylors' Hall
2024 Programme
09:30 AM
Breakfast & Registration
10:00 AM
Welcome, and Aggregation workshop
Aggregation is one of the most frequent areas of dispute between policyholders and their insurers. Unusually, it is also an area where the relevant policy provisions aren’t either obviously “pro-policyholder” or “pro-insurer”. This interactive session will look at some of the most common ways in which limits of indemnity and deductibles are capable of aggregating, including by reference to “event”, or “originating cause”, or by reference to a “series” of one of those, and will invite the audience to apply the principles discussed to a selection of case studies.
SPEAKER
David Pryce, Senior Partner
11:00 AM
Recent Developments regarding S.1 of the Defective Premises Act 1972
S.1 of the Defective Premises Act 1972 (“the DPA”) requires those involved in building and designing new dwellings to work in a professional or workmanlike manner, to use proper materials and to see that the completed dwelling is fit for habitation. This session will provide a refresher on some of the key principles under S.1 of the DPA, together with an update on recent case law; namely, URS Corporation Limited v BDW Trading Limited [2023] which establishes that the duty under S.1 is also owed to developers, and Vainker v Marbank Construction Ltd [2024], which reinforces the well-established fitness for habitation test.
SPEAKER
Alex Rosenfield, Associate Partner
11:30 AM
Break
12:00 PM
Delos Shipholding v Allianz: Fortuitousness & Non-disclosure
Fortuity and non-disclosure – some lessons from the Commercial Court’s decision in Delos Shipholding v Allianz. Plus a brief update on S.11 Insurance Act (breach of warranty) following the recent case of MOK Petro Energy v. Argo
SPEAKER
Jonathan Corman, Partner
12:30 PM
Estoppel: the welcome resurgence of this policyholder-friendly concept
An update on recent cases where Waiver and Estoppel, came to the policyholder’s rescue, including World Challenge Expeditions v Zurich and George on High Limited v Alan Boswell Insurance Brokers Limited.
SPEAKERS
Daniel Robin, Deputy Managing Partner
Dru Corfield, Associate
1:00 PM
Lunch
2:00 PM
Bridging the Gap: Recent developments in claims against insurance brokers
This talk will cover the key issues for brokers to consider when they get sued by their clients (or how to avoid getting sued in the first place). Alex will discuss the takeaways from recent Court judgements such as Norman Hay plc v. Marsh [2024], Hamsard One Thousand and Forty-Three Ltd v AE Insurance Brokers Ltd [2024] and Infinity Reliance Ltd v. Heath Crawford Ltd [2023].
SPEAKER
Alex Potts KC, 4 Pump Court
2:45 PM
Covid 19 BI Litigation Update 2024: a very appealing year!
Covid 19 BI claims continue to dominate the legal landscape with ongoing uncertainty as to the extent of cover.
In this update we review the current state of play by reference to:
- The outcome of the “At the Premises” appeal;
- The forthcoming appeals in the “Non-Damage Denial of Access” cases;
- Notifiable Disease extensions following the appeal in Bellini v Brit;
- Furlough – yes, you guessed it… it’s going to appeal…
SPEAKER
Joanna Grant, Managing Partner
3:10 PM
Subrogation: Stepping into the Insured’s Shoes
A look at the key issues, in relation to subrogation, that can arise as well as some recent decisions on this area, including Dassault Aviation SA v Mitsui Sumitomo and RSA v Textainer.
SPEAKER
Anthony McGeough, Senior Associate
4:00 PM
The Future of the Defects Exclusions after SCB and Archer
A Court in the USA has delivered the world’s first legal decision on the most generous of the three London Engineering Group (LEG) clauses related to defect exclusions, LEG3, in the case of South Capitol Bridgebuilders v Lexington Insurance Company. The fact that the Construction All Risks (CAR) market has been waiting for a LEG3 decision for this long means that SCB v Lexington was always going to receive a lot of attention. However, the unrestrained and intemperate language used by the Judge means that there is a risk that the decision will create more heat than light, and has the potential to lead to a reaction by CAR insurers which could negatively affect the interests of policyholders. This case study therefore attempts to take a step back from the eye-catching language used by the Judge in SCB, and to discuss what the future for LEG3 might look like.
SPEAKER
David Pryce, Senior Partner
4:30 PM
End of talks
Speakers
Register Now
Southern Coverage Symposium
Venue: The Merchants’ Taylor Hall
Date: 14 November 2024