Once their brokers have identified their insurance needs, and gone out and sought the best terms available in the current market conditions, most insureds pay their premium and move on. The detail of their insurances is only considered in the event of a claim. Insureds who turn to the detail when they are buying their insurances often reap the benefit when a claim arises.
Wynterhill has considerable experience in assessing the adequacy of cover both at the purchasing stage and subsequently, and then suggesting enhancements that can be put to insurers.
The devil really is in the detail
Insurers, understandably, produce their wordings on a “one size fits all” basis. The modifications to the base wording which appear in the schedule and endorsements are primarily driven by insurers assessment of the insured’s risk profile, not by the needs of the insured. Businesses may share similarities, but at the operational level each will have features unique to itself. Making sure the policy terms marry with the realities of how the insured’s business is done can avoid real difficulties in the event of a claim.
Even the best though-through insurer wordings can have inconsistencies and quirks that can give rise to coverage issues: ironing those out in advance of a claim can save delay, cost and stress.
Because Wynterhill’s policy drafting lawyers are litigators, we have a strong sense of the types of drafting issues that cause problems in getting claims paid and how to fix them. We are also commercially aware and don’t waste time coming up with ideas that insurers will never indulge.
Recent work
- Reviewing proposed policy language to cover the risk of adverse outcomes in litigation.
- Advising as to the adequacy of the insurance programme of a household name online business.
- Updating the excess layer wordings of a major international broker.
- Revising a package of covers for a client to ensure consistency of cover across the various sections.
- Advising a Fintech company on whether a proposed policy met their insurance needs.
