Insurance & Reinsurance

Steptoe’s coverage attorneys have represented their insurance and reinsurance clients in over 30 different domestic and foreign jurisdictions.

In one of the largest insurance, reinsurance, and surety practices in the nation, we litigate and counsel clients on a broad array of issues ranging from hazardous product and environmental insurance coverage issues to reinsurance fraud.  Steptoe attorneys have been involved in many of the cutting-edge developments in these areas of the law.  Our practice involves litigation at both the trial and appellate levels, arbitration, and client counseling and advice regarding a broad spectrum of coverage and reinsurance issues.  In addition, our London and Brussels offices have experience in contentious, transactional, and regulatory insurance matters.

We have extensive experience in representing insurers in many large, complex declaratory judgment actions regarding asbestos and other product claims, and environmental and hazardous waste claims.  Our reinsurance practice has also involved large, complex cases and a variety of issues including coverage, good faith, fraud, RICO and breach of fiduciary duty. 

Representative Matters

• Hager v. Allstate Insurance Company, Commonwealth of Kentucky, Fayette Circuit Court, Eighth Division, Case No. 98-C1-2482.  Plaintiff sought $1.425 billion in damages ($475 million in compensatory damages and $950 million in punitive damages) on a third party bad faith claim against Allstate under Kentucky's Unfair Claim Settlement Practices Act.  Plaintiff challenged Allstate's Claim Core Process Redesign casualty claim handling program, including the Minor Impact Soft Tissue and Colossus claim handling processes, and alleged that plaintiffs' claim against Allstate's insured was delayed for more than 2 1/2 years, before it was settled, in an effort to extort a more favorable settlement.  On October 10, 2007, after a two-week trial, the jury rendered a unanimous verdict for Allstate.

Noteworthy

• Received a #1 Ranking in Chambers USA 2005-2011: America's Leading Business Lawyers; Insurance: Insurer (District of Columbia)
• Ranked in Chambers USA 2007-2011: America's Leading Business Lawyers; Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Insurer (Nationwide)
• Ranked in Chambers UK 2011; Insurance: General Claims (London)
• Ranked in Legal 500 UK 2010; Insurance and Reinsurance Litigation, Insurance: Corporate and Regulatory
• Ranked in Legal 500 US 2010-2011; Insurance: Advice to Insurers

Select News & Events

• Steptoe’s Ianniello Named to Business Insurance’s Women to Watch
• Washingtonian Names Nine Steptoe Partners ‘Best Lawyers’
• Business Insurance Quotes Matt Gaul on New York's New Department of Financial Services
• Risk.net Quotes Guy Soussan on Solvency II Uncertainty for Risk Managers
• "How Much Is That Policy Worth, Anyway? An Analysis of Complex Limits Questions in the Context of Long-Tail Claims," ABA’s 24th Annual Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee CLE Seminar
• "Hidden Traps or Hidden Treasures - The Underestimated Role of Often Overlooked Policy Provisions," ABA’s 24th Annual Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee CLE Seminar
• “The UK Life Insurance Market” and “European Regulatory Developments,” IFE Life Insurance Conference
• “What Can We Expect from the Review of the Insurance Mediation Directive, IMD2?” IFE Benelux Conference on Insurance Mediation

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Publications

• The Allocated Share Set-Off Rule: New York Enters the Debate
  January 1, 2012, Insurance Coverage Law Bulletin
• Test Case’s Dismissal Will Have Implications for PPI
  November 3, 2011, Insurance Day
• Court Upholds Central Purpose of Follow Clauses
  October 27, 2011, Insurance Day
• Irene’s BI (Business Interruption) Losses Are Not Immediately Apparent
  September 29, 2011, Insurance Day

More Publications »