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ARTICLE · 03 AUGUST 2026

”Event” Aggregation Wording Considered In Reinsurance Claim

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
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Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP

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The High Court examined whether reinsurance losses from Covid-19 conference cancellations could be aggregated by jurisdiction under multi-line excess of loss treaties.

United KingdomInsurance
Greig Anderson
Greig Anderson
Aviv Boonin
Aviv Boonin
Vidisha Singh
Vidisha Singh
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In WRBC Corporate Member Ltd v AXA XL Syndicate Ltd and others [2026] EWHC 939 (Comm), the High Court held that the word "event" in the limits clause of two multi-line excess of loss reinsurance treaties referred to the causative government measure restricting public gatherings during the Covid-19 pandemic, not to the individual cancelled conference or exhibition. 

The decision enables the reinsured, WRBC Corporate Member Ltd (WRBC), to aggregate its Covid-19-related losses by jurisdiction (across six US states and England), reducing the number of deductibles applicable. The Court rejected the Reinsurers' construction which applied a separate deductible to each of the 174 individual losses.

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