Policy Wording

Our team of wordings specialists is here to help

Policy wordings are now under greater scrutiny than ever.

• An unusually high level of global uncertainty has put pressure on coverage for cyber, pandemic, war and terror, climate change and ESG.
• Regulators are more active than ever, the introduction of the UK Consumer Duty requiring a radical change of approach.
• Court decisions are increasingly unpredictable, and the rise of social inflation has caused many underwriters to rethink their appetite for cerain types of risk.
• AI-driven contracts and parametic covers continue to be a fast-growing area of development.

In response to extraordinary demand, we have introduced a dedicated policy wording service for clients. 

We are partnering with insurers, brokers and market associations to help design, develop and improve their wordings. We assist with projects of all sizes, from short discrete clauses through to exclusions and endorsements, coverage localization and complete new products.

We have dedicated specialisms across most lines of business with a particular focus on:

• Property and Casualty 
• Financial Institutions and Directors & Officers
• Energy
• Marine
• Healthcare

We seek to combine:

• Specialist wordings expertise; 
• Sector specialism; and 
• Claims experience.

Our wordings team is unique in combining specialist wordings expertise with detailed sector knowledge and experience of live claims.

Integration between wordings and claims

Our wordings team is staffed by coverage lawyers who combine technical drafting expertise with coverage claims experience. Our drafting is informed by experience of live claims and current court decisions.

Sector specialism

We use dedicated sector specialists, who bring an understanding of the nuances and particular challenges of the relevant market. Structuring a project team in this way allows us to craft wordings that meet the requirements of niche markets. 

Global insurance presence

Our global presence allows us to pool cross-jurisdictional experience and assist with global programmes. We have a unique ability to harmonise coverages across different jurisdictions, ensuring that local legal requirements are met.  This makes ideally suited for work on global programmes.

Focus on emerging risks

We work closely with our emerging risks team to ensure that wordings respond to new and emerging risks. A good example is climate liability, where international courts are beginning to formulate new duties of care and (re) insurers are considering their risk appetite.

Project efficiency

We understand the dynamics of an efficient wordings project. It requires clear objectives, well-defined stakeholder roles and a smart division of labour.

As the project progresses the key to success is careful preparation to ensure that each call or workshop is as time efficient as possible and the number of working drafts is kept to a minimum.