Insurance & Reinsurance
Hamish regularly advises and represents insurers and policyholders in respect of insurance and reinsurance related disputes in a diverse set of circumstances. His recent work includes:
- Hamsard One Thousand And Forty-Three Limited v AE Insurance Brokers Limited [2023] (awaiting judgment). Commercial Court trial representing a firm of insurance brokers alleged to have negligently failed to arrange an appropriate scope of cover and to disclose material facts such that the insurer avoided the policy for non-disclosure and misrepresentation (led by Daniel Shapiro KC).
- Finsbury Food Group Plc v Axis Corporate Capital UK Ltd [2023] EWHC 1559 (Comm). Commercial Court trial representing the defendant W&I insurers who underwrote a £20m acquisition of a food manufacturing business. The buyer of the business claimed under the W&I policy on the basis of alleged breaches of a number of warranties under the share purchase agreement. The defendant insurers succeeded on every issue after a two-week trial (led by Daniel Shapiro KC).
- Representing a firm of insurance brokers in regard to a £5m professional negligence claim. It was alleged that the brokers had failed to arrange appropriate insurance which would have covered damage arising out of a fatal road traffic accident in the US which had involved one of the claimant’s employees whilst travelling on business (led by Daniel Shapiro KC).
- Drafting particulars in relation to a coverage dispute after insurers declined to provide an indemnity for fire damage at a commercial premises due to breach of occupancy conditions.
- Drafting a skeleton argument and assisting preparations for the Court of Appeal proceedings in Spire Healthcare Ltd v Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Ltd [2022] EWCA Civ 17. The matter concerned the interpretation of aggregation clauses in insurance contracts and arose from multiple claims brought against a private hospital by patients injured by the disgraced breast surgeon, Ian Paterson (as a pupil).
- Advice on a circa £10m claim against an insurance broker alleging that insufficient cover was procured so as to indemnify an investment company in respect of a claim brought in the US for alleged breach of fiduciary duty and interference with contract (as a pupil).
Selected Cases
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- Daniel Shapiro KC and Hamish Fraser act for the successful Defendant in a Commercial Court trial brought against a firm of insurance brokers.
- Daniel Shapiro KC, Caroline McColgan and Hamish Fraser acted for the successful Insurers in the first warranty & indemnity insurance claim to be decided by the Commercial Court
Articles
- Defending W&I claims: strategic themes illustrated in Finsbury Foods v Axis & Ors
- ClientEarth v Shell: High Court refuses permission for novel climate change action to be brought by ClientEarth against the directors of Shell Plc
Qualifications
- BPTC (Outstanding), BPP
- GDL (Distinction), City University
- English Language & Literature (First Class), University of Oxford,
Awards
- Buchanan Prize for outstanding performance on the BPTC (Lincoln’s Inn, 2020)
- Advocacy Scholarship (BPP, 2019)
- Tancred Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn, 2019)
- Winner, the Crowther Shield for public speaking (Lincoln’s Inn, 2019)
- Winner, the Crown Office Mooting Competition (2018)
- The Janet Quigley Prize for Middle English studies (Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, 2016)