[1998] Lloyd’s Rep IR 93

Robert Bright – Retrocession – P&I risks – Declarations – Whether properly made and accepted – Reinsured subscribing to open covers developed by brokers for insurance of marine P&I liabilities – Brokers seeking to retrocede reinsureds liabilities under those covers by declaring them under further open Marine Multi-liability Cover subscribed by defendant reinsurers – Actions by reinsured against reinsurers – Reinsurers alleging that (1) no proper declarations were made and accepted under cover; (2) if there ever were contracts of reinsurance, such contracts had been validly avoided – Counter-allegations of estoppel, waiver and ratification – Settlement between reinsured and following reinsurers – Whether leading reinsurers had no authority under the cover to bind following market – Whether brokers were liable to indemnify reinsured against loss of reinsurances, both so far as security of reinsurers was concerned, and so far as security of following market was concerned