U.K. COURT FINDS IN FAVOR OF INSURER ON CLAIMS AGAINST ROGUE AGENTS
A British commercial court tried claims on December 8 and 9, 2008 made by Markel International Insurance Company (“Markel”) and QBE Insurance (Europe) Limited and Amalfi Underwriting Limited as against certain allegedly rogue agents who devised a scheme to defraud the plaintiffs of premium. The agents signed a number of unauthorized bonds on behalf of the principals, and shielded the receipt of premium through a complex accounting scheme.
The court found certain of the agents more or less culpable depending on their level of involvement in the conspiracy. The court also analyzed the appropriate quantum of damages in reference to the amount of premium concealed, and declined to entertain a number of failure-to-mitigate arguments raised by the defendants as untimely, having first been raised after trial. Markel International Insurance Company Limited v. Surety Guarantee Consultants Limited, [2008] EWHC 3087 (Comm. Ct. Queens Bench Div. Dec. 17, 2008)
This post written by John Pitblado.
