Timothy McCaw
Tim.McCaw@kennedyslaw.com
+44 20 7667 9777
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Profile
Tim leads the Complex Casualty Coverage team at Kennedys, where he acts for London and Bermuda market insurers and reinsurers on a range of complex, high-value contentious coverage matters, often with an international dimension. He has a broad range of experience, particularly in the areas of Excess Liability, Bermuda Form coverage, reinsurance, property, political risk insurance, trade credit insurance, product liability, product recall and policy wordings.
In the field of Excess Liability and Bermuda Form coverage, Tim advises clients on significant claims including those involving PFAS-related liabilities. He has represented a market of insurers in Swiss arbitration proceedings worth $250m concerning coverage for bodily injuries allegedly caused by a herbicide. He has also advised Bermuda Form insurers on a major coverage claim involving a post-operative medical device. His experience extends to advising insurers on the coverage aspects of claims arising from high-value mass-tort litigation, including cases involving the contamination of the US grain supply with genetically modified corn, and multi-billion-dollar liabilities in connection with the infant formula industry.
Tim’s reinsurance experience is extensive, having advised both reinsurers and cedants on complex claims under facultative and treaty reinsurance policies. He provided strategic advice to a large reinsurer on its COVID-19 exposures across various business classes and has represented reinsurers in various reinsurance coverage disputes, including ad-hoc arbitration proceedings against a Taiwanese cedant in connection with COVID-19 losses and High Court proceedings concerning event cancellation losses. He has also represented reinsurer clients in a wide range of high-value coverage disputes under Catastrophe Excess of Loss Treaties.
In the property sector, Tim has provided advice on high-value claims, including a US$750m material damage and business interruption loss related to a hydro-electric plant in India and a $100m claim relating to environmental clean-up costs following a dam collapse in Brazil. His experience of Property claims extends to advising insurers on property damage and public liability issues arising from the Grenfell Tower fire and COVID-19 related business interruption claims.
Tim also has significant experience in political risk insurance and trade credit insurance, including representing insurers in arbitration proceedings concerning the frustration of a multi-billion-dollar commodities contract in Indonesia and the expropriation of a mine in Bolivia. His product liability experience includes advising insurers on major product recalls and liability claims, including those related to defective building materials, motorbikes, trucks, and school buses.
Additionally, Tim has a wealth of experience in drafting policy wordings for a variety of business lines, including financial institutions, directors and officers liability, property, business interruption, cyber, medical malpractice and travel insurance.
Qualifications and admissions
- Qualified in England and Wales in 2007
Market recognition
- Recommended lawyer for 'Insurance and reinsurance litigation (London)'
The Legal 500 UK 2024 - Recommended lawyer for 'Product liability: Defendant (London)'
The Legal 500 UK 2021 - Recommended Lawyer for 'Professional negligence (London)'
The Legal 500 UK 2018/19
Awards
Work highlights
Excess Liability / Bermuda Form
- Acting for various Bermuda Form insurers in connection with a range of coverage claims for PFAS related liabilities.
- Representing insurers in Swiss arbitration proceedings worth US$250m against a multi-national herbicide manufacturer concerning liabilities arising from mass-tort litigation in the USA and class actions in Canada.
- Advising Bermuda Form insurers on coverage in connection with a significant claim involving bodily injury claims relating to the use of a post-operative medical device.
- Advising excess liability insurers in connection with a high-value coverage claim concerning liabilities arising from the use of pesticides containing neo-nicotinoids (the claim concerns class actions in Quebec, British Columbia and Ontario).
Reinsurance
- Acting for a US reinsurer in ad-hoc arbitration proceedings against a Taiwanese cedant concerning COVID-19 related losses.
- Acting for a Bermuda reinsurer in High Court proceedings concerning the aggregation of COVID-19 related event cancellation losses.
- Advising various reinsurers in connection with multiple Property and Casualty related coverage disputes under Quota Share reinsurance, Property Catastrophe Excess of Loss Treaties, Top & Drop Treaties, Clash reinsurance policies and retrocession contracts.
- Acting for a cedant in an outwards reinsurance claim against a reinsurer in connection with COVID-19 related business interruption losses.
Property
- Advising (re)insurers on a US$750m+ material damage and business interruption claim following the loss of a hydro-electric power plant and dam located in India.
- Advising insurers in connection with various potential property and public liability exposures arising from the Grenfell Tower fire.
- Providing strategic advice to the senior management of a London market insurer in connection with all its various COVID-19 related business interruption claims and handling multiple related coverage arbitrations against policyholders.
- Acting for a London market insurer in multi-party arbitration proceedings worth £100m+ concerning coverage claims for COVID-19 related business interruption losses.
Political Risk Insurance/Trade Credit Insurance
- Representing political risk insurers in arbitration proceedings concerning the frustration of a multi-billion dollar commodities contract resulting from government action in Indonesia.
- Representing political risk insurers in arbitration proceedings concerning the expropriation of a mine in Bolivia.
- Advising trade credit insurers in connection with lender claims resulting from losses suffered following the collapse of a Greek tobacco company.
Product Liability/Product Recall
- Advising insurers in connection with a significant product liability claim in the Republic of Ireland relating to defective building materials.
- Advising insurers in relation to a worldwide recall of motorbikes resulting from defective brakes and suspension systems.
- Advising insurers in relation to a US-wide recall of trucks and school buses resulting from defective brake light systems.
Insurance and reinsurance