Hunton Andrews Kurth Partner Authors New Edition of Insurance Treatise on Bermuda Form

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP partner Lorelie S. Masters has announced the publication of a new edition of Liability Insurance in International Arbitration: The Bermuda Form, the definitive guide for practitioners regarding an insurance policy form used in many excess commercial insurance programs.

Co-authored by Masters, Sir Richard Jacobs of the English High Court and Paul Stanley QC of Essex Court Chambers, the book was first published in 2004, and the third edition was published in the United States earlier this year. The third edition, like its predecessors, offers a comprehensive guide to how the Bermuda Form is to be construed, its coverage, the substantive law to be applied, the limits of liability, exceptions, and procedures to be followed during arbitration proceedings in London, now updated to reflect current practice.

The treatise provided the first comprehensive analysis of the Bermuda policy form, which was developed in Bermuda in the mid-1980s when the United States’ excess liability insurance market collapsed amid fears of liabilities arising from catastrophic claims, including those related to mass torts and environmental pollution. The Bermuda Form is now a staple in the liability, directors and officers, property, and other insurance programs purchased by large U.S. and multinational companies operating in a wide variety of industries. 

The English Court of Appeal referred to Liability Insurance in International Arbitration: The Bermuda Form as “the standard work on the topic.” The British Insurance Law Association awarded the book’s second edition its 2012 Book Prize for outstanding contributions to scholarship in insurance law.

A nationally recognized insurance coverage litigator, Masters handles all aspects of complex commercial litigation and arbitration for policyholders. In addition to the Bermuda Form treatise, Masters is a co-author of Insurance Coverage Litigation, an annually updated book that addresses a broad range of issues shaping insurance coverage cases.