Over the years, issues of attachment and which policy responds
has been a great source of contention in professional and financial
lines, with issues around notification frequently being the source
of such disputes. Liability policies are particularly susceptible
to notification disputes due to the claims made nature of such
policies, providing cover for claims which are made against the
insured in the policy year, even though the alleged negligence may
have occurred in earlier years.
Whether a current or previous policy responds to the claim can
centre on whether the claim arose out of circumstances previously
notified. However, where a problem develops over time, ascertaining
whether an earlier notification actually gave rise to the ultimate
claim can be difficult to assess. This was one of the issues to be
decided in the recent case of Euro Pools Plc (In
Administration) v Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Plc
[2018] EWHC 46 (Comm) (we touch on the other issues to be
