Insurers are facing many challenges from e-commerce, market consolidation, new competitors and changing industry regulations. With more than 90 years of experience serving the insurance industry and a global reputation for excellence, we can help you meet the challenges of today while preparing for the opportunities of tomorrow.

The May 2007 edition of Reactions, an international insurance industry magazine that conducts an extensive survey of in-house counsel, ranked Lord, Bissell & Brook as the top U.S. law firm for insurance and reinsurance related issues. The firm also ranked #1 in the categories of regulatory, litigation and dispute management, insolvency, corporate contracts, policy drafting and reinsurance. This is the sixth year in a row that Lord, Bissell & Brook has achieved high rankings in the survey.

For the fifth consecutive year, Lord, Bissell & Brook was ranked as a top Illinois firm in insurance work by Chambers & Partners. In Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers, 2007, Lord, Bissell & Brook received #1 rankings in the areas of insurance: coverage litigation; insurance: transactional and regulatory; and insurance: reinsurance litigation. SNL Financial, an independent research analyst firm, has identified Lord, Bissell & Brook as one of the leaders in insurance related mergers and acquisitions work, a substantial amount of which involves various forms of reinsurance transactions.

Responding Quickly and Effectively

Our insurance attorneys have vast experience in insurance and reinsurance corporate, litigation and regulatory matters, whether complex or routine. We respond quickly, whatever your need and wherever you need us. In recent years we have:

• Represented the purchaser of $1.4 billion in life, annuity and investment business of an international financial services conglomerate;
• Represented a fraternal benefit society in a pending merger in which the combined entity will have assets of $60 billion.
• Helped an insurance company acquire a $62 million life insurance business;
• Represented the Michigan Insurance Bureau in the demutualization of three insurance companies with a combined value of more than $10 billion;
• Helped an on-line seller of commercial insurance comply with state insurance licensing and disclosure laws;
• Prepared consumer privacy compliance programs and drafted privacy policies of major insurers and agencies;
• Represented some of the insurers of Great Lakes Dredge and Dock, which damaged an underground tunnel resulting in the flooding of numerous businesses in the Chicago Loop in 1992.  Claimed losses totaled more than $300 million;
• Won a ruling that a RICO claim against two insurers arising out of the denial of health care benefits is preempted by the McCarran-Ferguson Act and the Illinois Insurance Code;
• Represented the purchaser in the pending acquisition of a firm specializing in customer service and backroom outsourcing in India;
• Represented the seller of $1 billion in individual life business to another company;
• Obtained a summary judgment for insurers in coverage litigation involving $36 million in environmental cleanup costs;
• Resolved, through arbitration and litigation, a dispute involving more than 40 years of treaty and facultative coverage in the U.S. and abroad;
• Obtained a summary judgment on behalf of reinsurers of an insolvent company involving alleged exposure of more than $90 million and allegations of unfair claim practices;
• Settled a European reinsurer's dispute of amounts paid under a banker's professional liability insurance policy, saving our clients more than $1 million; and
• Worked in multi-state and federal courts and in the United Kingdom to obtain settlements of complex environmental claims that were a fraction of the estimated losses for European and Asian reinsurers.

We represent clients ranging from publicly traded, international insurers to family-run insurance agencies. These include traditional insurance business clients such as insurers, producers, premium finance companies, third-party administrators, managing general agencies, insurance guaranty funds and state insurance departments. We also represent banks, leasing companies, retailers, travel agencies and other companies whose primary business is not insurance. We represent reinsurance clients across the United States, the United Kingdom, continental Europe and Bermuda.

Recognized Authorities

Our attorneys are known around the world for their insurance experience. They include former state insurance commissioners and those who have served in senior executive and legal positions in insurance companies and trade associations. They regularly write and speak on insurance issues before professional groups. Some are certified as insurance continuing education instructors. One co-chaired the American Conference Institute's Online Insurance Transactions seminar. Others serve in leadership positions in the Professional Liability Underwriting Society.

Comprehensive Insurance Services

The depth and scope of our insurance services is unmatched among law firms. We find innovative and efficient solutions to the complex issues you face.