Christopher Webster

Full Profile

Christopher is a South African qualified attorney with experience in insurance and reinsurance coverage advice and dispute resolution.

He advises major South African financial institutions and insurers, Lloyd's syndicates and coverholders in relation to coverage, defence, recoveries and policy wordings. Christopher’s interest in extends to acting for Insurers, intermediaries and specialist PI underwriters in professional indemnity matters and Director and Officer liability coverage advice and subrogated disputes.

Christopher has extensive experience in advising insurers on:

• Assets and Business Interruption
• Product Liability
• Professional Indemnity
• Directors and Officers
• Aviation
• Financial Lines

Experience

• Defending personal liability actions against the insured directors of listed companies following corporate failures.
• Pursuing fidelity guarantee recovery actions in Southern and Africa for major international insurers.
• Advising local and international insurers on D&O coverage, policy interpretation and product development.
• Defending a large mining design engineer in a cross border dispute relating to the design and construction of a gold mine.
• Defending an insurer's decision not to advance defence costs in an arbitration arising from a rejected D&O claim.
• Overseeing on behalf of Insurers State owned enterprises Director’s defence in respect of various national investigations and litigious matters.  

• Representing insurers in respect of dozens of claims for indemnity by former directors and officers of Eskom and Transnet.  

• Coverage advice and defence in respect of Covid-19 Business Interruption claims. 
  Complex engineering and coverage advice and defence in respect of a gold mine designed and constructed by the Insured. 

• Involved in a multi-million Rand dispute relating to employee misconduct and the operation of an alleged pyramid scheme.

• Representing an Insured Broker in instances where the insured was accused of financial misconduct.

• Defending various Engineers in a professional negligence action involving a Sandton building which failed structurally.

• Legal Strategy advice to an international chocolate conglomerate in respect of product liability in South Africa. 

• Defending an Aircraft Maintenance Organisation in respect of a helicopter accident. 

• Representing Insured’s in respect of a fire at a national airport which caused damage to several aircraft owned by the claimants. 

• Advising Insurers in respect of a claim for indemnity arising due to possibly negligent financial advise with considerations to Financial planning structures, offshore investments and international tax consideration. 

• Representing professional indemnity insurers in claims involving a number of different professions including pension fund administrators and trustees, attorneys, medical practitioners and engineers.

• Coverage advice and Defence of listed motor dealers in South Africa in respect of a class action caused by alleged taxi conversions.