The report delves into the volume of disputes, identifies the most active insurers, compares the value of claims across sectors and explores patterns in court selection and party behaviour. It also examines the key dispute types driving litigation, settlement versus trial tendencies, average time to resolution and the significant impact of the pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian war on both the volume and scale of claims.

Key highlights:

• Disputes show an upward trend since 2014 - volumes have risen steadily year on year, with a marked increase in active cases and significant spike in disputes numbers in 2023.

• Litigation burden has shifted in recent years - insurers are more likely to be defending cases than claiming, shifting from 42% in 2019 to 53% in 2025 - an increase of 11 percentage points (approximately 26% higher than in 2019).

• Two major claim seams impact on the sector - pandemic-driven litigation from debt recovery to business interruption cases surged through 2022 and 2023, followed by war-related aviation leasing claims, more than a quarter of which were valued at over £100 million, put the pressure on insurers.

• Time to judgment increasing - impact of lockdowns on court is evident, taking 70% longer for claims that go to trial than in 2020.