Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Allocation definition

What does Allocation mean? In civil litigation, allocation is the court’s decision, by order, placing a defended claim on the appropriate case management route. In England and Wales, it is governed by the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) Part 26. Using information in the parties’ Directions Questionnaires (formerly allocation questionnaires) and any statements of value, the court typically allocates on the papers to one of four tracks: small claims, fast track, intermediate track, or multi-track. It considers factors such as monetary value, complexity, importance, remedies sought, number of parties, need for experts and expected trial length. The allocation order may include initial...

Allocation and Attachment of Losses in Insurance and Reinsurance under English law: policy periods, aggregation, indivisible damage, attachment points, recoveries, and key case law

Published by a LexisNexis Insurance & Reinsurance expert

Practice notes

allocation

In the context of insurance and reinsurance, ‘allocation’ is the process of identifying which policy covers a loss, or a share of a loss. In many claims this point never surfaces. If a driver wrecks their car, the motor insurance policy in force on the date of the accident will respond. Yet, in the smaller number of cases where it does arise, the consequences can be substantial for a (re)insurer's inwards liability and the availability of its outwards reinsurance.

Consider a business that employs a worker for 40 years. During that period the worker is exposed to asbestos and, after retirement, develops mesothelioma and dies. The estate sues the former employer. The company had workers’ compensation/employers’ liability insurance throughout the employee’s service, but which policy, if any, should respond to the claim?
Or take an insurer that covers a power station which later burns down. The insurer has prudently purchased facultative reinsurance covering the particular risk and treaty reinsurance spanning all of its power station risks, but which responds and in what order?

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Beth Zheng

Reed Smith LLP

Beth is an associate in the Global Commercial Disputes Group in London, having joined the firm as a trainee in September 2023. Prior to Reed Smith, she worked in the employment litigation team of an international law firm. Her practice involves advising clients on complex commercial litigation matters, with recent experience in the financial services, luxury goods, music, and shipping sectors. Beth’s contributions to the firm’s pro bono initiatives include working for Kids in Need of Defense and the Queen Mary Legal Advice Clinic, as well as serving as project co-champion of the Schools Consent Project. ...

Rupert Warren

Holman Fenwick Willan

Rupert has specialised in insurance and reinsurance since 2008. In that time, he has acted for (re)insurers, brokers and policyholders in relation to disputes arising out of a wide range of lines of business including onshore energy, mining, property damage/business interruption, general liability, product liability, cargo, crime, CAR and professional indemnity policies. He has also advised on several high profile professional indemnity claims, acting for both the defendant professional and the claimant.Rupert also has experience working in the insurance industry having spent time on secondment to the claims department of two Lloyd's syndicates....

Celia Richardson

Holman Fenwick Willan

Celia is an associate in the employment, litigation and counselling team, advising employers and employees on contentious and non-contentious employment matters. Celia has experience of litigation in the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Employment Tribunal, and has been involved in matters concerning breach of restrictive covenants, misuse of confidential information, claims for breach of contract, termination, unfair dismissal, redundancies and discrimination. Celia has also advised on the employment aspects of corporate transactions including share and business sales and contractual negotiations, and she is regularly involved in HR advisory work. Additionally, Celia has experience in insurance and reinsurance, having acted on a number of coverage disputes, advised UK and international clients in relation to policy reviews, and assisted on a number of regulatory matters....

Eleanor Ruiz

Reed Smith LLP

Year of Qualified: England & Wales - 2014 and Hong Kong - 2017 Eleanor specializes in complex commercial disputes, insurance recovery and insolvency-related disputes, including professional negligence claims. She represents a broad range of clients, including liquidators, investment and retail banks, corporations, insurance companies and brokers. Eleanor trained and qualified at Reed Smith in London in the Global Commercial Disputes Group, handling general commercial disputes and insurance recovery matters. In 2016 she moved to Hong Kong, where she joined a specialist investigative dispute resolution practice and qualified as a solicitor of the High Court of Hong Kong. There she worked on insolvencies being litigated in the Hong Kong courts, including professional negligence claims involving directors, auditors and other professional service providers. Eleanor returned to Reed Smith in London in 2019, re-joining the Global Commercial Disputes Group. Eleanor was seconded to one of the UK's...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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