Christopher Cowland

Full Profile

Chris advises insurers on a wide variety of first and third party coverage issues, often of a multi-jurisdictional nature. He has considerable experience spanning several business lines including property, construction and business interruption as well as public / product liability, motor and medical malpractice insurance.

Chris also has a busy litigation practice that includes subrogated recoveries and liability defence cases often in respect of large, complex disputes. He regularly pursues and defends suppliers, contractors and engineers in connection with defective products and negligent workmanship.   

On the non-contentious side, Chris assists insurers with the launch of new insurance wordings and products. This includes drafting corporate insurance policies as well as working with the captive insurers of some of the world’s largest professional services firms in the restructuring of their global insurance programmes.

Chris has an in-depth understanding of the insurance market having spent time on secondment with two market-leading insurers. He also regularly delivers training and seminars to clients.  

Experience

Representing liability insurers in relation to:

• The British Airways IT outage and consequential financial losses
• Redevelopment works to the London Olympic Stadium
• The alleged manipulation of blood test results at a forensic lab

Acting for property insurers in connection with:

• The investigation of, and defence against, numerous fraudulent claims. This includes Parker v National Farmers Union Insurance Society (2012) in which insurers successfully established that the policyholder was responsible for both arson and a previous fraudulent claim
• A EUR 10 million litigated coverage dispute in France following a fire at industrial premises
• Multi-million dollar flood damage to commercial property in Texas resulting from Hurricane Harvey

Representing insurers / their policyholders in subrogated recoveries and liability defence cases involving:

• A major fire at a London mansion during the course of refurbishment works
• The manufacture and supply of defective electrical equipment responsible for multiple household fires across the UK
• The structural design of an anaerobic digester

Assisting with the launch of new insurance products / global programmes including:

• The creation of a new form of contingent business interruption insurance for one of the world’s leading professional services firms
• The drafting of property damage / business interruption and general liability wordings for UK and international insurers