MCWG remains on the cutting edge of all new developments in the reinsurance industry and is known as a leader in reinsurance dispute resolution.

We have a premier team of experienced attorneys who focus exclusively on reinsurance matters to provide winning yet cost-effective legal and business advice to clients around the globe.

Mound Cotton’s attorneys “bring an incredible depth to the reinsurance world. They have a very deep bench and a lot of talent.” Further, “What’s attractive about the firm is they’re large enough to deal with complex litigation but, at the same time, the partners are very approachable.”

Chambers USA

Our lawyers represent cedants, reinsurers, retrocessionaires, managing general agents, and brokers/intermediaries in arbitration, state and federal litigation, mediation, and all forms of alternative dispute resolution. Our work encompasses all Property and Casualty business, as well as other lines including Accident, Life, and Health, Directors & Officers Liability, Accountants’ Errors & Omissions, Finite Risk, Marine, Entertainment/Film Financing, Title, Boiler & Machinery, Crop/Seed, Title, Medical Malpractice, Bail Bonds, and Satellite Risks.

We have handled hundreds of disputes to final award or judgment and have unsurpassed experience in all stages of arbitration and litigation, including at the appellate level. We also frequently counsel clients in pre-dispute matters, giving advice on coverage issues, contract interpretation, collection methods, commutations, regulatory compliance, and overall business strategies, as well as drafting reinsurance contract language, handling insolvency-related issues, and analyzing actuarial and statutory accounting questions.

From large-scale, complex disputes to smaller, more straightforward cases, MCWG offers an unparalleled approach, uniquely tailored to each client’s needs so as to obtain the best, most efficient outcome.

Industry Presence & Honors

In addition to sponsoring the annual New York City Reinsurance Conference, the firm’s reinsurance attorneys lecture and publish extensively on a host of insurance and reinsurance topics, and are active members and patrons of leading industry associations, including ARIAS, AIRROC, BRMA, IACP, and RAA. We are intimately familiar with, and are well-known and well-respected in, the world of reinsurance arbitrators, experts, and consultants. Our lawyers have been recognized by Chambers USA, Benchmark Litigation, International Who’s Who of Insurance & Reinsurance Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, and Guide to World’s Leading Insurance and Reinsurance Lawyers.

Representative Matters

• Represented various reinsurers in two separate multi-million dollar arbitrations against a ceding company seeking payment for asbestos bodily injury claims, which the arbitrators found had improperly aggregated multiple years of asbestos losses as a single occurrence in one year of an excess of loss treaty program.
• Obtained a declaratory ruling from an arbitration panel requiring a reinsurer to pay $3.5 million in unpaid balances and to pay all future claims under the reinsurance contracts within 60 days, despite the reinsurer’s claim that it was first entitled to its right of access to records.
• Represented First State in First State v. National Casualty, in which the First Circuit affirmed the confirmation of an arbitration award in First State’s favor and held that arbitrators have broad authority to grant equitable remedies under an honorable engagement clause.
• Represented the plaintiff reinsurer disputing a cession on allocation, misrepresentation, late notice, and failure accurately to report claims. The arbitration panel found in favor of the reinsurer, saving it approximately $20 million.
• Secured a favorable arbitration award for a cedant for nearly $300 million under multiple reinsurance treaties in effect for nearly two decades. The reinsurer had sought rescission and other relief on several grounds. The arbitration involved a number of occurrences in connection with misapplication of inuring reinsurance and declaratory judgment expenses.
• Represented the cedant successfully in a series of medical malpractice claims and made law in the Second Circuit on the statute of limitations applicable to reinsurance contracts in Continental v. Stronghold.
• Represented the reinsurer in Unigard v. North River, a landmark Second Circuit precedent under New York law concerning late notice and expenses in addition to limits under a $10,000,000 facultative certificate covering Owens-Corning Fiberglas and involving the Wellington Agreement.
• Represented one of the largest title insurers in an arbitration, recovering a seven-figure award for its claim against an off-shore reinsurer.
• Represented a ceding company in Newmont v. INA in winning confirmation and convincing the Tenth Circuit on appeal to apply the post-judgment interest rate of 18% stated in the contract, rather than the significantly lower statutory rate.
• Represented a cedant against several reinsurers in related arbitrations in connection with a major savings & loan institution D&O liability program, recovering damages totaling eight figures.
• Represented the cedant in Yasuda Fire & Marine v. Continental, a ground-breaking Seventh Circuit decision on enforcement of pre-hearing security awards in arbitrations.
• Represented a cedant in an arbitration, recovering a seven-figure money damage award involving an intellectual property theft claim under an entertainment risk policy issued to the Walt Disney Co.