Stewarts has published its first annual review of the insurance disputes landscape across lines of policy including cybersecurity, business interruption, war and political risk, construction and others.

The Policyholder Review 2024/25, also featuring contributions from leading brokers Gallagher, Howden, Lockton and McGill and data from intelligence provider Solomonic, confirms that insurance litigation will continue to be among the fastest-evolving disputes fields in England and Wales as novel points of law will be established and tested.

Read the report in full here

 


 

Themes addressed in the report include:

  • potential precedents for disputes over cybersecurity coverage arising from Covid-19 business interruption insurance litigation, in the absence of precedent cyber cases;
  • how businesses will need to manage cyber risk and maximise their potential protection through insurance;
  • the rise in cladding and fire safety insurance disputes in the aftermath of the Grenfell tragedy and the wider implications for the construction industry;
  • what companies and directors need to know about W&I insurance in 2025 and its potential limits, and D&O insurance issues including on director’s duties and ESG.
  • what recent case results, including aviation litigation following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, mean for war and political risk insurance in a growingly uncertain world;
  • the next steps for the long-running Covid-19 BI saga.

Aaron Le Marquer, Head of Policyholder Disputes at Stewarts, comments in his Foreword to the inaugural publication:

“Across a range of practice areas, 2024 was a busy year for insurance coverage professionals and produced a multitude of important developments. Providing essential reading for insurance intermediaries, coverage professionals and insured businesses, our review features a survey of key legal developments across a range of core commercial lines of business.”

The Policyholder Review 2024/25, co-authored by partners Chloe Derrick and James Breese, also includes articles produced by the Stewarts Policyholder Disputes team over the past two years, tracking the precedent-setting results in cases of note as they were released.

Areas to watch

Cyber risks – A vast landscape of ever-increasing threats, crowded with dangerous actors and considerable perils. A marketplace of traders selling a variety of protections, some more comprehensive and stronger than others. The boundary lines between protection and loss can vary drastically, and the difference can be potentially catastrophic. Against that perilous backdrop it is unsurprising that cyber insurance has been coined the “cyber frontier”.

Warranty and indemnity – W&I insurance is becoming an increasingly popular product in the UK and international markets and is developing into a standard feature of M&A deals for good reason. However, recent legal cases have highlighted some difficulties that can arise with claims under such policies.

Construction and cladding – The construction sector has been subject to a significant liability shift following a wholesale review of building regulation and practice after the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017. The Building Safety Act has altered the landscape, and the changes in the law introduced have given rise to an influx of disputes.

Financial and professional risk – It was clear in 2024 that emerging risks will continue to affect various financial lines of insurance, particularly directors’ and officers’ insurance (D&O). Company law reforms designed to achieve corporate transparency and reduce economic crime and ESG concerns mean the list of risks facing directors is ever-increasing.

War and political risk – In a year marked by continued or increasing political instability, with no end in sight for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a rapid escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, the appetite for political and war risks insurance has never been keener. Claims under political risk, political violence, war and associated policies are inevitably complex and often contentious due to the volatile nature of their subject matter.

Property damage and business interruption – Business interruption insurance disputes arising from the Covid-19 pandemic have dominated the Commercial Court in England and Wales since 2020. In 2024, there was a common issue for insurance disputes relating to property damage and/or business interruption losses: causation. This trend will continue in 2025 insofar as Covid-19 business interruption insurance disputes are concerned.

 


 

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