High Court Upholds Arbitration Agreement In Policy

In Chubb Bermuda Insurance Ltd v Fertitta Entertainment, Inc [2026] EWHC 1392 (Comm), the English Commercial Court granted the Claimant insurer, Chubb Bermuda Insurance Ltd (Chubb Bermuda), a final anti-suit injunction in support of a London arbitration clause contained in an excess layer insurance policy. The Court awarded Chubb Bermuda damages for breach of this arbitration agreement, arising from the insured Defendants (a group of US companies whose business focused on the hospitality sector in Texas and/or Louisiana, the Policyholder Defendants) having commenced three successive sets of proceedings in the Louisiana courts in contravention of the arbitration clause. 

This case provides a timely reminder of the breadth of the English Court’s readiness to enforce English-law governed arbitration agreements, as well as highlighting the risks in failing to carry out a proper analysis of the dispute resolution provisions in a policy and ensuring consistency across the different layers