1. Marsh Risk Consulting
Mass Tort and Complex Liability Practice
Global Insurance Archaeology Services
Many companies and organizations face mass of millions of dollars of viable coverage. Furthermore,
tort and complex liabilities that can negatively historic policies often contain broader coverage
including:
impact their financial outlook. Allegations
surrounding these types of liabilities can span „ Lack of key exclusions, such as asbestos and
decades and include the following types of pollution;
“long-tail” exposures: „ Lower deductibles;
„ Asbestos; „ Absence of aggregate limits for certain exposures;
and
„ Construction defect;
„ Defense costs in addition to the limits of liability.
„ Welding fumes;
The value of these historic assets can, however, be
„ Pollution; diminished by insurer runoff and insolvency issues.
„ Medical devices/pharmaceuticals; Therefore, companies with existing or potential long-tail
„ Product liabilities; liabilities should ensure that they take the opportunity
to recover and retain these valuable assets now.
„ Sexual misconduct; and
„ Other legacy claims. Can You Locate Your Historic Insurance
A company’s historic occurrence-based liability Coverage?
insurance policies can protect it from the economic Due to age of these documents, companies all too often
impact of these claims. Yet many companies are unable find they are unable to locate the coverage they need.
to locate their historic policies or other insurance records Company mergers and broker changes compound this
that could prove the existence of this valuable coverage. inability. Files are moved and forgotten, and personnel
The ability to locate historical coverages is critically with crucial institutional knowledge retire or relocate.
important as U.S. courts generally place the burden of
proving the existence of the policies on the policyholder. Marsh Risk Consulting’s (MRC) Mass Tort and Complex
Liability Practice has a dedicated, global insurance
The Value of Historic Insurance archaeology practice that can assist companies in
locating lost policies. Working in close collaboration
Historic insurance assets dating back 60 or more years with clients, our experienced insurance archaeologists
can provide significant protection against today’s can locate historical insurance assets through
burdensome claim and defense costs. The combined comprehensive research in a number of areas, including:
limits of a historic insurance portfolio can total hundreds

2. Leadership, Knowledge, Solutions...
Worldwide.
„ Research and internal reviews of historic corporate and accounting firms that may have retained
records and archives; important evidence of insurance;
„ Interviews with current and former personnel such „ Contact with insurers to coordinate research for
as risk managers, corporate counsel, and records additional policy documentation; and
managers; „ Specimen policy form research to locate standard
„ Research and contact with former brokers, ncluding terms and conditions for policies supported only
detailed interviews with brokerage personnel who may through secondary evidence.
have knowledge about a particular account;
„ Identification and contact with various outside
sources, including law firms, government entities,
London Insurance-Market Archeology
For the past hundred years Lloyd’s and London insurers have been major providers of insurance coverage to the
commercial world. Since 1988, our London team has been offering a full range of London insurance-market archaeology
services. The unit has direct access to the largest broker archive in the London market with records dating back to the
1940s. The team has extensive contacts with other London insurers and insurance brokers to provide a comprehensive
research service. Furthermore, our extensive contacts in the London insurance market can provide clients with expert
guidance regarding London insurer insolvencies and solvent insurer schemes of arrangement.
Getting Started
Prior to any research project, our archaeologists will contact or meet with you to thoroughly discuss the scope of the
project, determine coverage gaps, obtain additional information on the history of any pertinent companies (including
predecessors) and determine what research steps may have already been undertaken. After completing these initial
steps, our archaeology team will provide a comprehensive proposal detailing specific research steps to find lost policies.
Contact us
To learn more about how MRC’s Mass Tort and Complex Liability Practice can help, please contact your local Marsh
representative or:
Jennifer Lee (New York) Ian Pelham (United Kingdom) James Dorion (Chicago)
(212) 345-3732 44-1603-207648 Mass Tort and Complex Liability Practice Leader
jennifer.lee@marsh.com ianpelham@insolutionsworld.com (312) 627-6186
james.f.dorion@marsh.com
You can also visit us on the Web at: www.marshriskconsulting.com or www.marsh.com
The information contained in this publication provides only a general overview of subjects covered, is not intended to be taken as advice regarding any individual situation, and should not be
relied upon as such. Insureds should consult their insurance and legal advisors regarding specific coverage issues. All insurance coverage is subject to the terms, conditions, and exclusions of the
applicable individual policies. Marsh cannot provide any assurance that insurance can be obtained for any particular client or for any particular risk.
Marsh is part of the family of MMC companies, including Guy Carpenter, Mercer, the Oliver Wyman Group (including Lippincott and NERA Economic Consulting).
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