Neil Hext

Insurance & Reinsurance

This is one of Neil’s primary areas of practice.  He acts for both insurers and insureds dealing with the entire range of coverage issues.  He has experience that is both broad and in depth, encompassing issues of non-disclosure and misrepresentation, breach of warranty, application of conditions precedent, as well as aggregation, the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act and, in the field of professional indemnity, notification.  His experience includes public liability policies, material damage/business interruption, construction/erection all risks, jewellers block policies and professional indemnity.  He regularly advises both insurers and insureds on policy response, including on questions of fraud, and has also advised insurers on changes to policy terms.

He is recognised in the Legal 500 as a leading junior in Insurance and Reinsurance and is described as having “a mastery of detail, a fundamental grounding in insurance law and a highly professional approach”.

His important cases in this field include:

• Jones v. Environcom Ltd [2010] Lloyd’s Rep IR 190 (whether insurers seeking negative declaration in relation to cover can obtain security for costs against counterclaiming insured)
• Dedames v. NFU Mutual [2009] EWHC 2805 (non-disclosure and affirmation)
• Mopani Copper Mines plc v. Millennium Underwriting Ltd [2009] Lloyd’s Rep IR 158 (significance of deletions to construction of reinsurance slip)
• Bartoline Ltd v. RSA [2007] Lloyd’s Rep IR 423 (whether environmental clean-up costs covered by public liability policy)
• Faraday Capital Ltd v. SBG Roofing [2006]  EWHC 2522 (whether statements taken by loss adjusters privileged)