Aaron Le Marquer, partner and Head of Policyholder Disputes hosted a ‘coverage update’ seminar on Thursday 24 April at Lloyd’s of London Singapore. The event was co-hosted by Aon and Siraj Omar LLC and in association with the Insurance Law Association of Singapore.
Our esteemed panel of experts delivered the latest regional updates, diving deep into emerging trends and pivotal coverage issues. Attendees listened to a thought-provoking discussion that outlined the challenges faced by policyholders and key players across the global insurance market.
Our seminar covered topics such as:
AI and emerging risks: the rise of the machines?
Aon’s Grant Pilkington discussed the ongoing hype over AI’s potential as a disruptive and innovative technology in commercial risks insurance.
Can AI large language models be harnessed to analyse and develop insurance policy wordings? Can AI resolve and settle an insurance claim in under 10 seconds? And as algorithms and technology rapidly improve and more powerful models becomes available, will underwriters require increased scrutiny or need to develop new or different products to cover AI-related exposures?
London market developments
Aaron Le Marquer presented a round-up of recent key decisions in the English courts with international ramifications, including cases related to:
- Property/construction: reviewing Sky UK Ltd & Anor v Riverstone Managing Agency Lt & Ors (16 December 2024), concerning damage occurring after the period of insurance.
- Cyber: coverage issues highlighted by the 2024 CrowdStrike outage.
- Warranty and indemnity – guidance from the courts in Finsbury Foods v Axis, Project Angel Bidco v Axis, and Drax Smart Generation v Scottish Power.
Singapore market developments
Allister Tan of Siraj Omar LLC presented an overview of key decisions in the Singapore courts, including:
- Property/Covid-19 business interruption claims: QBE Insurance (Singapore) Pte Ltd & Anor v Relax Beach Co Ltd, concerning the interpretation of policy terms in the context of a Covid-19 closure order related business interruption claim; and the applicability of the UK Supreme Court’s decision in Financial Conduct Authority v Arch Insurance (UK) Ltd.
- Trade credit: Marketlend Pty Ltd & Anor v QBE Insurance (Singapore) Pte Ltd, concerning the scope of coverage under trade credit insurance policies.
- Professional indemnity: SYT Consultants Pte Ltd v QBE Insurance (Singapore) Pte Ltd, concerning the recoverability of settlement sums.
Speakers
Aaron Le Marquer
Partner and Head of Policyholder Disputes, Stewarts
Aaron leads the Policyholder Disputes team at Stewarts and specialises in representing policyholders in high-value and complex coverage disputes with insurers. He represents clients concerning the coverage of insured losses across various sectors, such as financial services, hospitality and retail, manufacturing, logistics, sports, and entertainment. He possesses extensive experience in all commercial lines of business, including business interruption, directors and officers, professional liability, cyber, environmental risks, property, and casualty.
Grant Pilkington
Director, Technical Excellence – Broking, Aon
Based in Singapore, Grant is Aon’s technical director and products counsel for commercial risks across 11 countries in Asia. He focuses on policy interpretation, coverage optimization, product development and helping clients avoid risk oversights.
Allister Tan
Founding Director, Siraj Omar LLC
Allister Tan is a co-founder of Siraj Omar LLC. In the insurance sector, Allister’s expertise is highly sought after by insurers, reinsurers, brokers, and policyholders alike.
He frequently advises and act as counsel for clients in a wide variety of matters across all insurance lines including coverage, defence, recovery, policy wording, and regulatory-related matters.
You can find further information regarding our expertise, experience and team on our Policyholder Disputes page. If you require assistance from our team, please contact us.
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