UK-based disputes law firm Stewarts, together with 14 leading independent international firms, have launched the Global Policyholder Alliance (GPA), the world's largest global policyholder advocate network.
Through close collaboration between member firms, the alliance provides coordinated, cross-border advice on major insurance disputes.
The alliance addresses a longstanding imbalance in the insurance market. While insurers have historically been able to draw on established global networks of panel legal firms, policyholders have lacked such access to specialist representation in relation to cross-border disputes.
Through the GPA, businesses facing major insurance disputes will be able to access leading local expertise alongside coordinated cross-border advice from member firms across 23 jurisdictions in the US, Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and other key jurisdictions.
Stewart Head of Policyholder Disputes and Founder of the Alliance, Aaron Le Marquer said that insurance disputes are increasingly international in nature, but until now business policyholders have not had the same easy access to a global network of specialist lawyers as insurers.
“The launch of the Global Policyholder Alliance changes this. By bringing together many of the world’s leading policyholder disputes lawyers across numerous jurisdictions, businesses can now gain quick access to top-tier legal expertise in their local jurisdiction, while also benefitting from cross-border support if a dispute becomes international,” said Mr Le Marquer.
“Ultimately, this is about ensuring policyholders can access the highest quality legal representation wherever in the world a claim arises. The GPA is unique in providing access to specialist policyholder representation backed by established heavyweight litigation practices, bringing together over 2,500 lawyers across all four global regions.”
The alliance will mark its launch with events in London on 21st October, Dubai on 4th November and Singapore on 19th November.