Insurance Law

In AIG Europe v OC320301 (formerly the International Law Partnership LLP),¹ England’s Commercial Court considered the standard aggregate claims provision contained within English and Welsh solicitors’ professional indemnity insurance policies.

The court declined to allow a number of claims (lodged by hundreds of investors who lost money due to a failed system devised by the defendant law firm) to be treated as one claim. The claims were said to be separate on the basis that the claims were not dependent on one another and therefore not a ‘series of related transactions or matters’ as required by the policy.

The significance of this decision lies in the far reaching application of this standard aggregation clause. Insurers and insureds should consider their respective liability when confronted with multiple claims of a similar nature.

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