Mark Pring
Mark is a London-based partner in Reed Smith's Insurance Recovery Group, a market-leading team of coverage experts operating internationally who are committed to providing support only to insured policyholders. Mark has had extensive experience, for nearly 30 years, in handling high-value, multi-jurisdictional insurance and other commercial disputes (including cross-border litigation and arbitration proceedings). In the insurance context, that experience has covered a range of non-marine and marine risks - including professional indemnity, financial institutions, directors' and officers' liability, property, energy and construction risks. Mark's practice also increasingly involves "risk management" work, including advising on corporate governance matters, reviewing anti-corruption policies and procedures and conducting reviews of insurance arrangements. Having previously lived and worked in the region, Mark continues to work closely with clients from, and investors into, Middle East jurisdictions. He has also developed a strong reputation for assisting policyholder clients based in a number of offshore jurisdictions (in particular, Jersey and Guernsey).
Mark is regularly commended by independent legal directories: he "is brilliant. He never shies away from in-depth and complicated discussions but also has a very good and accessible way of explaining things. He is lovely to work with and gets on very well with clients." "He is an insurance expert who gets to the heart of things." - Chambers & Partners UK, 2022.
Mark was granted Higher Rights of Audience (Civil Proceedings) in November 2016.
Mark was identified as a "Best Client Partner 2014" in a Legal Week survey of FTSE 100 general counsel.
Finally, Mark is the coordinating partner for a number of Reed Smith’s pro bono initiatives focusing on access to justice and immigration law rights.
Practice Areas
Panels
- Consulting Editorial Board
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 1994
Membership
- The Law Society
- London Solicitors Litigation Association
- British Insurance Law Association
- International Bar Association
Education
- Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge BA (Hons) 1988
- University of York - MA History 1989
- College of Law - CPE 1990, LSF 1991
5 Contributions by Mark Pring
PRACTICE NOTES
Applicable law for insurance contracts under UK Rome I (Article 7): large and non-large risks, risk location, mandatory insurance, life assurance, reinsurance, and UK Rome II overlap
Practice Note
This Practice Note assists with identifying the applicable law for contracts concluded on or after 1 January 2021. For agreements entered into before that date, the UK courts apply a different applicable law framework, which varies according to when the contract was made. For detailed guidance, see the following resources:
Practice Note: Applicable law—a guide for dispute resolution practitioners
Practice Note: Assimilated law
In this Practice Note, UK Rome I refers to Regulation (EC) 593/2008. That regulation governs the choice of law where the contract was entered into on or after 1 January 2021. Previously called Retained Rome I, from 1 January 2024 it has been retitled Assimilated Rome I—the change is in name only; the regulatory provisions are unchanged. Authorities may use either designation, and therefore, for consistency, this Practice Note adopts the term UK Rome I. This Practice Note examines the insurance contract provisions within UK Rome I. It provides definitions and explains the differing rules applicable to large risks and non-large risks...
Dispute Resolution
PRACTICE NOTES
Brussels I (recast) insurance jurisdiction: Articles 10–16, weaker‑party protection, direct actions, subrogation, jurisdiction agreements, lis pendens and post‑Brexit application—England and Wales [Archived]
E&W Brussels I (recast)—dealing with insurance matters [Archived]
ARCHIVED : This Practice Note is archived and is not being maintained. It assists in identifying which EU Member state’s courts hold jurisdiction to determine an insurance claim. In particular, it examines the amendments in Regulation (EU) 1215/2012, Brussels I (recast), insofar as they concern insurance. Those provisions are found in Chapter II, Section 3, Articles 10–15 of the Regulation. The Note reviews the basic principle that a defendant is to be sued in the state of their domicile, together with departures from that principle when the insured—treated as the weaker party—is involved. It also surveys the position where the parties are on an equal footing. Further safeguards are discussed where there could otherwise be tacit prorogation of jurisdiction, as well as the effect of an agreed jurisdiction clause in an insurance dispute. The Practice Note includes Court of Justice rulings that post-date the UK’s exit from the EU. For guidance on how these should be applied, see Impact of UK’s departure from the EU below...
Insurance & Reinsurance
PRACTICE NOTES
Rome I Article 7: UK applicable law for insurance contracts (2009–2020)—large/non‑large risks, choice of law, mandatory insurance, reinsurance, Rome II and third‑party issues, and Brexit
This Practice Note
Use this Practice Note when identifying the governing law for contracts concluded between 17 December 2009 and 31 December 2020. Where agreements were made outside those dates, the UK courts apply a different governing law framework; for guidance, see: Applicable law regimes for insurance contractual disputes below. The Note examines the insurance contract rules in Regulation (EC) 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I). It sets out definitions and explains the distinct regimes for large risks and non‑large risks, covering party choice of law, absence of choice, escape routes, and EU Member State derogations. It also outlines obligations concerning insurance cover and how to ascertain the location of the risk. Provisions relevant to reinsurance arrangements are touched on briefly. Finally, it considers whether Regulation (EC) 593/2008, Rome I or Regulation (EC) 864/2007, Rome II governs matters arising from motor accidents or claims by third parties against insurers in the relevant legal contexts accordingly...
Dispute Resolution
PRACTICE NOTES
Subrogation in Insurance and Reinsurance: Legal Basis, Equitable Lien, Top-down Recoveries, Co‑insureds and Waivers, Limits and Practical Guidance on Pursuit, Allocation and Interaction with Assignment, Contribution and Indemnities
This Practice Note offers guidance on subrogation in the insurance context. It sets out the legal basis, purpose and practical operation of subrogation, and indicates how to tell rights of subrogation apart from other mechanisms such as assignment or contribution. It also considers common situations, including subrogation against co-insureds, the use of express subrogation clauses and waivers of subrogation. In addition, it covers how recoveries are allocated and the insured’s duty to co-operate with insurers.
What is the right of subrogation?
In insurance and reinsurance, the right of subrogation allows an insurer or reinsurer, once it has indemnified the (re)insured, to step into that party’s position and bring proceedings in the (re)insured’s name. For this Practice Note, ‘insurer’ should be read as ‘(re)insurer’ and ‘insured’ as ‘(re)insured’. The insurer may then exercise any of the insured’s rights or remedies against third parties arising from the insured event. After indemnity, the extent of the insurer’s rights and remedies is coextensive with the insured’s against third parties for the relevant loss, including any right in contract (performed or unperformed), tort,...
Insurance & Reinsurance
PRACTICE NOTES
Waiver and estoppel in non‑consumer insurance: underwriting and claims‑handling, fair presentation and proposal questions; subrogation; AI placement; warranties, conditions and reservation of rights; delegated authority
This Practice Note explores waivers in the context of insurance underwriting and claims-handling. Although it chiefly focuses on the law of waiver for a ‘non-consumer insurance contract’ (as defined in section 1 of the Insurance Act 2015 (IA 2015)), it also distils principles from case law concerning a ‘consumer insurance contract’ (as defined in section 1 of the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 (CI(DR)A 2012))...
Waiver during the underwriting process
The duty of fair presentation
IA 2015 introduced a duty on the insured to give a fair presentation of the risk to the insurer in relation to a ‘non-consumer insurance contract’. In short, this means the insured must either:
disclose to the insurer ‘every material circumstance which the insured knows or ought to know’; or
‘failing that, disclosure which gives the insurer sufficient information to put a prudent insurer on notice that it needs to make further enquiries for the purpose of revealing those material circumstances’
A circumstance is material ‘if it would influence the judgement of a prudent insurer in determining whether to take the risk and, if so, on what terms’. In light of limb 1) above, the...
Insurance & Reinsurance
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