Frequently Asked Questions

After The Event Insurance (ATE) is form of legal expenses insurance that can be taken out after a legal dispute has happened but before any legal action is commenced. Embarking on any type of litigation carries the risk of the loser having to pay the winner’s legal costs. ATE provides insurance against this liability if the worst happens. Normally the policy covers the claimant’s disbursements (expert reports, issue fees, etc.) and if the case is lost, it will cover the opponent’s disbursements and their legal costs they have incurred in defending the claim that the Court orders the loser to pay. ATE does not cover the claimant’s own legal costs though that they are liable to pay their solicitor for acting on their behalf, but many solicitors take cases on what is called a conditional fee agreement (a CFA also known as “no win, no fee”) which means that a claimant’s solicitor agrees not to charge a client if the case loses, but if the case wins, they will charge a success fee.

When pursuing or defending a claim possibly the biggest risk that is faced is the payment of legal costs. Quite often this risk deters valid claims from being taken. ATE insurance mitigates this risk by providing a safety net that allows anybody with a valid and genuine claim to pursue it with the reassurance that if the worst happens the adverse costs will be covered. For businesses, the existence of an ATE insurance allows the litigation risk to be taken “off-balance” sheet rather than having to make a provision within the accounts.

We will consider virtually any type of legal action. See our product pages for our wide range of policies. We are always more than happy to consider specific cases or new areas of litigation.

For lawyers who specialise in litigation such as personal injury, clinical negligence, housing disrepair, etc. Palladium Insurance can arrange a delegated authority after the event insurance facility. This enables a solicitor to issue policies at a pre-agreed premium usually without any reference to the insurer. The premiums will be standard for each type of risk and, dependent upon what type of claim is being covered and the volume of cases that cover is required for.
For bespoke policies that are issued for specific, individual cases the premium is staged and the amount due depends upon when a case settles.
For a detailed quote please contact us and give us as much detail as you can regarding the case(s) that you require cover for.

Once an ATE insurance policy is in force the solicitor keeps the insurer updated. As a case progresses, there are certain key points that need to be communicated to the insurer such as the issue of proceedings, offers made or received to settle, details of any expert reports or opinions, details of any defence that may be put forward, etc. What is required and when is clearly laid out and agreed upon before the litigation. By following this agreed process continuation of policy cover is maintained.

ATE insurance should ideally be taken out as soon as possible. Once litigation has started there is a risk that legal costs and disbursements will be incurred, and these will not be covered before the ATE policy is in force. Once the other side is aware of the existence of an ATE policy it may encourage earlier settlement as it demonstrates that an insurer believes that the claim has a good chance of the case being successful.

Until March 2013 the premium for an ATE policy was recoverable from the Defendant if the case was won. Following legislative changes, the recoverability of ATE premiums from the defendant was abolished other than for a small number of specific types of claims such as privacy matters (e.g., defamation), mesothelioma, a proportion of the premium for medical negligence relating to obtaining expert reports, etc. Insolvency matters were initially included in the exemptions but that was subsequently withdrawn in 2016. In most instances, this means that the claimant is responsible for paying the premium but as referred to in the other “Frequently Asked Questions” the premium is only payable in successful cases and is not due until the case is settled as is fully deferred.
If the case is lost however, then the premium is self-insured and the premium is then not payable. In effect, this means that taking out ATE Insurance is an obvious and straightforward way to protect both the Client and Solicitor.

The standard payment terms on ATE insurance are that the premium is deferred and contingent, i.e., the premium is only payable if the case is successful, and the premium is paid at the conclusion of the case. If the case is unsuccessful then the claim is paid, and the premium is included as part of the claim. There are some cases however where the premium must be paid upfront, particularly if the case is unlikely to result in any damages being awarded such as Judicial Review policies to cover defence costs.

It is not for Palladium Insurance to tell a solicitor what to do, but we believe the answer is yes. The following is a quote from the Solicitors Regulation Authority “You must give your client the best information possible about the likely overall cost of a matter both at the outset and, when appropriate, as the matter progresses. In particular, you must: discuss with the client how the client will pay, in particular: whether the client’s own costs are covered by insurance; and discuss with the client whether their liability for another party’s costs may be covered by existing insurance or whether specially purchased insurance may be obtained” and we would recommend that any solicitor should check The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Code of Conduct if they are unsure.

Lawyers simply need to contact us by email at info@palladiuminsurance.gg, use the online contact form on this website. We will be more than happy to then discuss your client’s case with you in complete confidence.

No unfortunately. When deciding whether a matter is suitable for After the Event insurance, we will need to obtain a large amount of information from the solicitors and barristers acting on behalf of a client. This can include the technical points of law that provide the basis of a piece of litigation, an estimate of how much expert advice may be needed to support the case, the expected costs of any reports, the estimated legal costs and disbursements of the opponent, the basis upon which a solicitor is acting, etc. and many other issues which are beyond a lay claimant. We are a B2B business and not a B2C one.