After-the-event coverage is the norm for personal injury claims, in order to recouperate costs regardless of the case outcome. Michael Lent considers ATE insurance as the way forward for professional negligence claims
The use of after-the-event (ATE) insurance in personal injury claims is now well established and, indeed, routine. Such insurance provides cover to the claimant for their opponent’s costs in the event that their claim is lost. It would be unthinkable for a personal injury claim to be conducted other than on a conditional fee agreement (CFA) with ATE. However the use of ATE insurance, or indeed CFAs, either ‘no win, no fee’ or ‘no win, low fee’ (see Gloucester County Council v Evans), remains rare in professional negligence claims.
