The insurance law landscape in the UK is about to undergo a serious shake-up.
Earlier today, Keoghs announced that it had exchanged contracts with Hill Dickinson ahead of the acquisition of its insurance business group – a move that it claims will create the “pre-eminent legal services provider” in the country. The move would exclude the marine insurance and clinical negligence work of Hill Dickinson which has always been undertaken separately.
As part of the deal, 16 Hill Dickinson partners and 400 other fee earners and business services staff based across London, Manchester and Liverpool will move to Keoghs before the end of January. Keoghs will gain a presence in Liverpool for the first time as part of the deal.
“When combined with our recent office openings in Southampton, London and Glasgow, this acquisition is the latest investment to enable us to deliver on our vision of becoming the pre-eminent legal services provider for the UK insurance industry,” said John Whittle (pictured), CEO of Keoghs. “In the current climate of consolidation within insurance law, investment in people, technology and infrastructure are the key factors to enable success.”
According to a release, the Hill Dickinson insurance business group will add capacity and capability to the Keoghs offering in the following areas:
- Professional and financial risk, where it acts for insurers and brokers across a wide range of disciplines.
- Abuse work where it acts on behalf of insurers, religious organisations, independent schools, professional and amateur sporting clubs and associations, local authorities and charities in high-profile, complex and sensitive claims.
- Corporate risk where the team provides one-stop-shop solutions to various sectors, including retail, transport and logistics, leisure and manufacturing.
“I believe that our partners and staff involved in transferring to Keoghs will benefit from moving to a firm whose sole focus is insurance and which has invested heavily in infrastructure to service clients effectively and efficiently both now and in the future,” added Peter Jackson, chief executive of Hill Dickinson. “Furthermore, it will also allow us to focus our resource and efforts on areas of future strategic growth in our core business areas of health, marine and commercial, while at the same time maintaining close relationships with Keoghs to provide an enhanced offering to our retained clients who require insurance-related advice.”
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