Aggregating insurance claims and reinsurance claims

Produced in partnership with Andrew Burns KC of Devereux Chambers and John Platts-Mills of Devereux Chambers

Practice notes

Aggregating insurance claims and reinsurance claims

Produced in partnership with Andrew Burns KC of Devereux Chambers and John Platts-Mills of Devereux Chambers

Practice notes

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Aggregation remains a major issue in the settlement of insurance and reinsurance claims leading to a number of disputes across the market. Claims managers, arbitrators and even appellate judges appear to take differing views as to what particular policy wordings are intending to achieve in an aggregation clause.

A spate of judicial decisions on the common aggregation wordings in the late 1990s and early 2000s was followed by a quieter period. The prevalence of settlements or commutations, together with the confidentiality of reinsurance arbitrations means that the law in this area has moved on little in recent years. The last of the litigation arising from the 9/11 tragedy coupled with a spate of solicitors and medical negligence claims provided some insight into the modern approach to aggregation. Questions about whether different losses in different places during the COVID-19 pandemic can be aggregated for the purposes of insurance and reinsurance policies have afforded the courts an opportunity to focus on the proper approach to aggregation.

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Andrew Burns, KC

Devereux Chambers

Andrew Burns QC has a strong commercial and insurance practice, acting for well-known city insurance firms, directly for insurers and advising insureds on policy terms. He has featured in some of the leading appellate cases in insurance law in recent years including Durham v BAI (Run Off) Ltd (the Employers' Liability Policy Trigger Litigation) in the Supreme Court. He has recently appeared in Simmonds v Gammell on 9/11 aggregation and Tonicstar v Allianz on reinsurance arbitration procedure. He has appeared in Dubai in the DIFC Court of Appeal and is also recommended for substantial employment and industrial relations disputes. "Very hands-on, very good with clients and someone who understands the perspective that insurers have. He is very astute in ensuring the advice he provides is pitched in the way clients need it to be provided, and he has a very deft touch in cross-examination."' Chambers UK 2018

John Platts-Mills

Barrister, Devereux Chambers

John is a natural and persuasive advocate, with a busy court and tribunal based practice. As well as running his own portfolio of cases he is regularly instructed as junior to more senior juniors and silks in Chambers.

He possesses a “first class mind”, which allows him to develop a command of complex issues quickly. As observed by one of his clients: “in addition, and what is not apparent on his barrister profile (where he looks very corporate), are his interpersonal skills”, which enable him to relate to and communicate with his clients easily and effectively.

Before joining the Bar, John worked in the Shell Global Litigation team, where he had conduct of a range of international trade, distribution and investment disputes. He also has experience of complex international group claims and jurisdictional disputes, having worked on Okpabi v RDS in the High Court and Court of Appeal.

Before retraining as a lawyer, John worked as a corporate finance analyst in Deutsche Bank’s mergers and acquisitions team. He worked on a number of high-profile transactions, including: the Dixons Carphone merger and the IPO of Infinis.

Jurisdiction(s):

United Kingdom

Key definition:

Reinsurance definition

What does Reinsurance mean?

An insurance policy covering an insurer’s exposure to a policy or class of policies that it has insured. Proportional reinsurance is written on an agreed percentage of risk, as opposed to non-proportional or excess of loss insurance, which responds once the limit of the underlying layers have been eroded.

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