Insurance

Our team is top ranked in Scotland for defender personal injury by Chambers UK and Legal 500 UK. We handle all types of casualty and auto claims from simple slips and trips and whiplash injuries to major loss and fatal claims, and class actions, acting for insurers, corporates and private individuals. 

We have strength and depth of experience, with personable, effective lawyers at all levels able to assist our clients across all court tracks and with pre-action matters, including those relating to coverage, indemnity issues and disclosure requests. We are known to act in the most high-profile litigations in the Scottish market, including those reaching the UK Supreme Court.

We are routinely instructed to represent foreign insurers and to act for UK-based handling agents following accidents within Scotland involving foreign nationals or vehicles or when Scottish-based nationals suffer injuries abroad. We receive repeat instructions in this area owing to our technical expertise, clear, concise advice, and our ability to build and collaborate with an effective team of experts and foreign lawyers. We have experience across all claim types and values including those arising from tram crashes, shooting incidents, pedestrian strikes, vehicle collisions, holiday illness and falls within holiday accommodation.

We provide strategic advice and assistance on all types of disputes, claims, regulatory, complaints and broader insurance coverage and indemnity issues involving professional organisations and individuals across all sectors. Our experienced team act for a broad range of professionals (such as solicitors, counsel, accountants, directors, brokers, educational institutions, architects, surveyors, construction professionals) on both insured and uninsured claims.

We have a dedicated recovery team specialising in losses arising from road traffic accidents. We provide a comprehensive delegated or non-delegated service for hire companies, businesses with their own fleet, and insurers. We are experts in recovery of vehicle hire costs (commercial and domestic) and repairs, including those provided on a credit basis. We have decades of experience in working to robust Service Level Agreements and delivering on Key Performance Indicators including lifecycle and recovery percentage.

Our market leading team is regularly instructed through insurers to act on behalf of their insured in respect of health and safety and other regulatory incidents, including environmental and road traffic. As well as providing advice on managing such incidents the team will also act on behalf of any insured finding themselves subject to prosecution or in a Fatal Accident Inquiry.

Our team defends a broad spectrum of claims for insurers providing cover for policyholders operating in the healthcare sector – including private medical providers, care homes, medical device manufacturers and the aesthetic industry. With a significant healthcare offering across the firm, we are well placed to understand a policyholder's business and the regulatory frameworks under which it operates. 

We have been involved in some of the highest profile group proceedings including the pelvic mesh and metal on metal hip litigation – securing abandonment against our clients in both. We recognise the often sensitive nature of these claims and are skilled in working with insurers and their policyholders to develop strategies to resolve or defend claims in ways that work best for all involved.

Our team has significant experience in connection with financial and professional risks including Directors & Officers Liability, Management Liability and Cyber Protection. We are instructed by and on behalf of insured organisations when significant financial losses have been incurred and advise on:

• Pursuing and defending claims
• Remedial steps including actions to mitigate losses
• Engaging with regulators and law enforcement
• Representing organisations and individuals in civil and criminal court proceedings.

Well versed in the marine industry, we handle all manner of incidents and claims for International Group P&I Clubs and other marine underwriters across many sectors of the marine industry. We are known for our swift response to incidents, helping insurer and insured through the often difficult first few hours and days of an incident, dealing with authorities, gathering evidence, and advising on handling and strategy. We then deal with any disputes, claims and any proceedings which follow, seeing our clients through the whole process.

We handle injury, property and contractual claims arising out of operations in both the traditional and new energy sectors. With a good understanding of the industry, and the contracts and the indemnity regimes in use within it, we bring that to bear in dealing with claims and representing clients.

Our cyber and data protection lawyers advise on both cyber incident response and cyber readiness across a full range of risk points including data protection and ePrivacy. We help insurers and their clients respond to cyber incidents, including breach response and investigation; managing forensic experts; communications with regulators and affected individuals; remedial plans; coverage; and complaints, claims and enforcement action. 

In addition, we also advise on supply chain arrangements, internal incident response management and planning, training and board room risk awareness. As well as our pan-UK capability, we offer an insurance team in Scotland with unparalleled expertise in each of the above.

Brodies’ corporate team is an award-winning, Chambers UK and Legal 500 UK Band 1, M&A and private equity team. We have led multi-jurisdictional deals across the UK and beyond with a value of almost £9.5bn in the last year. We have the sector experience and breadth of knowledge to be able to support any client in the insurance sector be that with own account M&A and investment, advice to funds under management (on investment, buy and build strategies, fund set up etc.), corporate governance or group re-organisations.

Our commercial contract experts have extensive commercial experience, advising on outsourcing and commercial contracts in the insurance sector, whether acting for customers or suppliers. Our lawyers take the time to understand our clients, their business models and their commercial drivers and challenges and we often follow and support our clients as their businesses expand beyond the UK. Our experience includes advising on the outsourcing of business processing and IT, the procurement of technology, partnership agreements and distribution agreements.

We provide advice and support at every stage of the contract lifecycle, from procurement and competitive tendering stage, structuring and drafting, through to negotiation, review and conclusion.

Our IP, technology and data lawyers deliver commercially-focused, specialist advice and insight, working with local and international businesses and organisations in various industries as well as the public sector. Our commercial teams help clients implement effective risk management and compliance when contracting with consumers, suppliers and/or in collaboration with other entities (particularly in respect of data protection, cyber security and intellectual property infringement) to reflect evolving technological and regulatory advancements and complexities.

Our commercial team also deals with all aspects of commercialisation and exploitation of technology, IP and data and handles high value transactional, advisory and regulatory work. Our dedicated IP dispute resolution team has extensive experience in dealing with all types of infringement, validity and entitlement disputes via pre action correspondence, litigation, arbitration and mediation.

Our employment and immigration practice is one of the largest in Scotland. We support clients in Scotland, the UK and internationally providing a range of expertise from litigation, business change and consulting, to operational HR support, independent investigations, contracts and policy development, training, employee relations as well as business and personal immigration advice.

Our in-house and industry experience give us the client focus and insider knowledge to ensure that the service we deliver is always fit for purpose. We act as lead adviser to a number of leading insurance businesses and our broad finance sector experience means that we have a good understanding of the interface between employment law and the regulatory arrangements in the sector.

Our team of lawyers, chartered accountants and chartered tax advisors has the experience and specialist skills to provide clients with pragmatic and technically astute advice on UK and Scottish taxes, employee share plans and incentives. Our tax advisers are experts in their field, with a deep understanding of the UK tax system, Scottish devolved tax matters and the ever-changing laws and regulations.

We work closely with our clients to understand their unique needs and objectives and provide tailored tax advice and pragmatic solutions that help them achieve their goals. From standalone tax planning and compliance advice, to comprehensive transactional support, we understand how tax considerations must fit within a broader commercial picture and can provide tailored tax advice for your business or personal activities.

Our Band 1 ranked real estate practice comprises the largest and most diversified team of lawyers in the Scottish property market. Advising across all sectors of commercial real estate, we work with investors, developers, funders, landlords and tenants. We engage in cross jurisdictional real estate transactions and support many insurance clients with their property requirements across the UK, whether as owners or occupiers. We are experienced in advising on lease negotiations, sub-leasing, alterations, rent review and the issues related to premises relocations including continuity, fit-out and building services integrations.