One-off (bespoke) After the Event Insurance policies

A one-off (sometimes referred to as ‛bespoke’ or ‛facultative’) ATE risk is any single civil litigation action requiring ATE cover regardless of its type, size and the stage the litigation or potential litigation has reached.

The general rule of thumb is that the Insurers will require a reasonable amount of supporting information before making a decision, so it is not easy to obtain cover right at the start of the dispute, but it is also sound advice not to leave it too late before applying. ULP is able to arrange ATE insurance protection for a very wide range of litigation categories, indeed almost any type of civil litigation where there is an adverse costs exposure.

Whilst most cases are claimant actions, it is also possible to insure cases under ATE Insurance policies where the Solicitor’s client is the Defendant or Respondent in the action.

ULP has arranged cover for test cases, Appeal Court cases, judicial reviews and even Appeals to the Supreme Court (formerly the House of Lords).

On our database, we already have over thirty different case type categories, and amongst them are:

Personal Injury (all types), General Liability (all types), Clinical Negligence, all other Professional Negligence categories, Insolvency, Financial Irregularity (a burgeoning growth area), Inheritance, Employment (non-Tribunal), Commercial Contract, Personal Contract, Property (all types, personal and commercial), Intellectual Property, Defamation, Human Rights and so on…

Obtaining cover, especially for a case that is strong enough but only just, can be time-consuming so it is advisable to approach us in good time if there is a deadline looming.

Current ‘flavour of the month’

At ULP we can arrange ATE insurance protection for nearly any type of civil litigation, however since 2008 ULP has been - and remains - at the cutting edge in the rapidly developing and evolving market of Financial Irregularity (FI). As is now public knowledge, the mis-selling of Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) policies has been rife. Less well known and understood, but considerably more significant (and arguably a much greater opportunity for Solicitors), is that a staggering proportion of regulated loan/credit agreements appear to be in breach of the CCA Regulations and therefore may well be unenforceable. Add to this the fact that the arranging of loans and the selling of PPI policies have frequently involved undisclosed or secret commissions (breach of agency and/or fiduciary duty), plus the evolving ‛unfair relationship’ test and you have a potent cocktail of wrongdoings by the lenders and brokers. Hundreds of thousands - if not millions - of ordinary people are affected by this.

ULP has received - and continues to receive - more enquiries for FI ATE cover over this period than for any other individual ATE category. We have been successful in arranging FI Schemes for Solicitors, as well as cover for one-off FI cases - including many of the test cases and Appeals that have been run. Contact us for more information.