Application Advice: ATE Insurance

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Good case presentation is invaluable when seeking litigation insurance or litigation funding. A considered and comprehensive case presentation can significantly improve the chances of securing offers and the speed of underwriting decisions. The instructed lawyer or legal representative should complete the process below. Substantive feedback on the application or offers of cover are usually provided within 10 working days depending on the information supplied. If you are unsure about your or your client’s insurance requirements, please get in touch with our specialist broking team on 0845 257 6058.

You can download our proposal forms here to look at them in detail:

ATE Proposal Form
DBA Proposal Form (UK only)

Tips when applying

Good case presentation is invaluable when seeking litigation insurance. A considered and comprehensive case presentation can significantly improve the chances of securing offers and the speed of underwriting decisions. Here are some tips to help you when applying for litigation insurance:

1. Provide a case summary
It is helpful to provide a short, concise summary of the case, prepared by the instructed lawyers. This should outline the background, the key issues and the strength of the case. This enables underwriters to quickly form a view of the case and focus their more in-depth analysis. You can download our Briefing Note Template here.

2. Detail on why you believe that your client is likely to succeed
Insurers and funders will only support cases with good prospects of success. The case summary or written opinion should set out the reasoned view of the legal team on the case merits, as well as commenting on any commercial aspects which may not be apparent from the pleadings or correspondence.

3. Address the likely challenges or defences
The key challenges or defences should be addressed head-on, including commentary on why you believe that these arguments can be overcome. If the case is at a very early stage, it is useful to pre-empt the likely defences and comment on them.

4. Detail your view on the claim value
A realistic valuation of the claim is vital for insurers and funders when considering the case economics and the viability of any potential insurance cover or financial investment

5. Consider and address enforcement
For insurers offering a contingent premium, the enforcement or collection risk is as important, if not more so, than the claim value. The commentary should include the financial strength of the defendant entity, whether the defendant is likely to be insured for the claim; the location of assets and detail the enforcement strategy where appropriate.

6. Consider what documentation should be supplied in support of the case
Whilst insurers will take into consideration the solicitors’ and/or Counsel’s views on the prospects of success, they will ultimately form their own views on the merits of the case. Whilst they must be provided with all the material information in support of the case, providing too much documentation which is not directly relevant to the risk assessment or covered elsewhere in the papers can be off-putting and can slow down the process.

One approach is to supply the key material documentation, accompanied by an index of further documents which can be made available upon request.

7. Refer the insurer/funder to key documents
Remember, you will know the case better than the insurer. It can save time to highlight the crucial supportive documents in your case summary.

8. Use the team at TheJudge
The team at TheJudge are on hand to discuss any queries relating to case presentation or the application process. Please do not hesitate to contact us for advice and guidance.

Note: We previously offered an application platform called Accelerate for matters requiring less than £250,000 of cover. While we no longer offer this service, we invite you to complete the standard ATE application process for your matter or contact one of our brokers for a quick conversation on the best course of action for your matter. Contact us.

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