The need

Attorneys representing a chemical company in its suit against a multinational insurance company needed an expert in international insurance coverage to make their case. The suit alleged that the defendant breached its coverage obligations under a pollution policy as they refused to pay the plaintiff for claims stemming from a ship explosion resulting in the spill of its chemicals, environmental damage, and millions of dollars in fines from a foreign government. Countering these claims, the defendant argued that the plaintiff did not disclose the accident when the pollution policy was signed and did not provide any notice of claims until six years after the incident. As such, the ideal expert would need to be well-versed in the standards and practices of international insurance coverage.

Our approach

From conversations with the client, we understood the search to be urgent as expert disclosures were due in a matter of months. This and the details of the case in mind, we went to work to find the precise fit.

The expert

We found an expert with over 35 years of experience in the insurance industry specifically as an insurance underwriter, insurance broker and insurance program manager. He was the senior consultant for an insurance and risk management consultancy and his areas of expertise included insurance industry standards of care and duties for insurance brokers and agents, insurance broker management practices and insurance company and broker relationships. In his career, he had experience as an underwriting manager in the Ocean Marine, Inland Marine and International Property and Liability Departments at a respected insurance company. Finally, he had been retained as an insurance expert in numerous litigation matters including those with insurance industry customs and practices issues.