Clifford Chance
Claimants unbound - Direct actions against insurers under the Brussels I Regulation
7 August 2017
Direct actions against insurers have long been a problematic area for private international law. Insurers and insureds will commonly seek to agree which courts have jurisdiction to hear their disputes by including jurisdiction clauses in policy wordings. However, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has confirmed in the recent case of Assens Havn v Navigators Management (UK) Ltd ([2017] ECLI:EU:C:2017:546) that such clauses are not binding on third parties. In many jurisdictions, liability insurers may have a direct liability to those who have claims against their insureds, including (but not limited to) cases where the insured is insolvent. This case confirms that insurers have little control over which EU jurisdiction hears such claims, and serves as a warning to liability insurers that they cannot be confident that their jurisdiction clauses will be given effect.
