Member Spotlight: Aon’s Litigation Risk Group

Aon is a global insurance brokerage and professional services firm with approximately 50,000 employees across 120 countries that offers a wide array of risk mitigation products and structured solutions.  Aon’s Litigation Risk Group focuses on de-risking adverse outcomes in active and potential future litigation for corporate, private equity, hedge fund, law firm, and litigation finance clients through the use of insurance.

Aon has spearheaded the rapid development of this insurance market over the past five years with pioneering solutions like judgment preservation insurance, insurance-backed judgment monetization, and portfolio-based “principal protection” coverage for funders and plaintiff-side law firms.  Aon’s Litigation Risk Group is the dominant market leader in the litigation and contingent risk space, having placed nearly $5 billion in total limits over just the last several years, including over $1 billion in limits in 2023 alone.

Website:  https://www.aon.com/m-and-a-transaction/transactionsolutions/litigationsolutions.jsp

Founded:  1982

HQ:  London (Global) and Chicago (US), with Aon’s Litigation Risk Group being based in New York

About Aon’s Litigation Risk Group:

Aon’s Litigation Risk Group works with a wide variety of clients across all industries and sectors of the economy, but the fastest-growing appetite for insurance solutions by far comes from litigation funders and other similar investors in litigation-related assets.

Aon helps these clients protect their downside in litigation-related investments in many different circumstances, whether protecting a judgment they have obtained in a case in which they invested at inception, wrapping a loan they are making to a plaintiff-side law firm with principal protection insurance, or insuring an entire portfolio of uncorrelated investments in cases at different stages of the litigation lifecycle.

Aon has fostered strong partnerships with dozens of insurance markets to bring our clients the most creative bespoke insurance solutions for the most complex litigation-related risks on the best possible coverage terms.  As the Director of Underwriting for a well-established litigation funder on whose behalf Aon has placed over $70 million in limits across a number of different investments put it:  “We have worked with the Aon’s Litigation Risk Group on a number of insurance policies over the years, and I can say unequivocally that they are second to none.  Besides being fantastic to work with, the team was also able to leverage their litigation know-how and strong relationships with insurers to obtain favorable terms for each of our policies.  Even when we had to file a claim on a policy, they jumped on it right away, handling it quickly and professionally without any need to involve a separate claims team.  We have been very happy with our partnership. 

Points of Differentiation:

Innovation – Aon is a leader in terms of pushing the limits of what litigation and contingent risk insurance policies can do.  While this area of the insurance industry got its start on the defense side in the context of M&A transactions, where what is now refered to as “adverse judgment insurance” or “AJI” was used to ring-fence litigation risks that were getting in the way of an acquisition, they were the first to place insurance on plaintiff-side judgments, which led to Aon coining the term “judgment preservation insurance” or “JPI,” which is now used industry-wide and beyond.

Aon was also the first to have the insight that once a judgment is insured, so long as the defendant is sufficiently creditworthy, the combination of “judgment plus JPI policy” can serve as collateral for a loan that can be made on more attractive terms than would be available without insurance.  Aon was among the first broker in the insurance industry to facilitate loans against this combination of “judgment plus insurance,” a solution they named “insurance-backed judgment monetization,” and which has now also become widespread and provided a significant boost to the broader litigation and contingent risk insurance industry.  Their team prides itself on finding new and unique uses for insurance to help our clients achieve their goals, and excels at using insurance capital to solve complex litigation-related issues.

Pre-Underwriting­ – Aon’s team of former litigators has earned a reputation for submitting to insurers only the highest quality risks, after thoroughly analyzing their merits before submission to insurers.

As one of the leading insurers in the litigation and contingent risk insurance space, Ambridge Partners, put it:  “We’re always happy to receive contingent risk submissions from the Aon team.  The deals are always pre-vetted and well-presented, and it’s clear that they’ve asked themselves ‘What would I want to see as an underwriter?’ – and then provide exactly that.  It makes Aon’s deals very attractive easy for us to consider.”

And per Alston & Bird litigation partner Steve Penaro, “As outside counsel working with underwriters in the contingent risk space, when we see a contingent risk submission from Aon, we immediately know that is has been thoroughly vetted and the issues meticulously scrutinized.  And, once the underwriting process begins, Aon actively partners with us to ensure all relevant information is readily available and all questions have been answered allowing for a smooth close.  From the initial submission to the binding of the policy, Aon is there every step of the way.” 

Given the explosive growth in this space, Aon values their underwriters’ scarce time, and enjoys a competitive advantage knowing that underwriters move Aon submissions to the top of their piles.

Relationships with Insurers – Aon is not only a market leader in terms of litigation and contingent risk insurance, but also other lines of insurance written by the same carriers such as representations and warranties and tax insurance.

As one lawyer we have worked with on policies for two different clients put it: “The Aon team did a magnificent job in placing adverse judgment insurance for one of my clients and judgment protection insurance for another.  They have deep contacts with the insurance market, and it was apparent to me that insurers trust their expertise and judgment.  I have not hesitated to recommend them to other attorneys.

Given the volume of business that Aon does in the broader transaction solutions insurance market, they maintain deep relationships with insurers, and that benefits their clients by helping them deliver the best possible coverage terms, pricing, and claims service.

Key Metrics:

Aon’s Litigation Risk Group has placed billions of dollars in limits on litigation and contingent risks in the last several years, including ten separate insurance programs that each provided more than $100 million in coverage limits and four that provided at least $500 million in coverage limits.

The policies placed by Aon have arisen in a variety of procedural contexts and run the gamut in terms of subject matter and types of claims – commercial litigation, breach of contract, patent infringement, trade secret misappropriation, and antitrust, just to name a few.  Aon has placed adverse judgment insurance on the defense side and judgment preservation insurance on the plaintiff side, including pre-trial, pre-judgment insurance for litigation funders to protect the value created by important evidentiary rulings that were the subject of interlocutory appeals.

Aon has also placed principal protection insurance on several hundred million dollars that have been invested into early stage, pre-complaint patent litigations across multiple unique patent families. They have procured insurance for defendants who have lost significant damages verdicts at trial against the risk that an appellate court will not reverse, and have insured against adverse outcomes related to regulatory processes.  Put simply, as long as their team has access to sufficient underwritable information about the litigation risk to be insured, there are few limits on the kinds of cases or procedural postures that Aon can insure.

Jurisdictions and Sectors Served:

Aon’s Litigation Risk Group has insurance broking teams not only in the United States, but also in the United Kingdom (which can insure risks across much of EMEA), Bermuda, and Southeast Asia, which enables them to deliver to our clients truly global solutions across myriad jurisdictions.

While the core of Aon’s business remains insuring the outcome of judicial proceedings in the United States, they understand where to go to find appetite to insure litigation in other domestic courts, as well as insuring the outcome of international arbitration proceedings. 

Key Stakeholders:

Stephen Davidson is a Managing Director and both the Head of Aon’s Litigation Risk Group and Head of Claims for Aon’s broader Transaction Solutions team.  As Head of the LRG, Stephen works with clients and insurance markets on the development of litigation and contingent risk insurance.  As Head of Claims, Stephen manages transaction liability claims – which includes not only litigation and contingent risk insurance claims but also representation and warranty and tax insurance claims – and has overseen and helped negotiate the favorable resolution of hundreds of such claims in North America and around the world.  Prior to joining Aon in 2016, Stephen was a commercial litigation partner in DLA Piper’s New York office, and he began his career at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, where he worked as a litigation associate for several years.

Stephen Kyriacou is a Managing Director and Senior Lawyer in Aon’s Litigation Risk Group, and was the first insurance industry hire dedicated solely to the litigation and contingent risk insurance market, which he has been working to develop and grow since 2019.  Stephen has twice received the designation of “Power Broker” from Risk & Insurance Magazine (in 2022 and 2023), which called him “a pioneer in judgment preservation insurance,” and is the only litigation and contingent risk insurance broker to have been so recognized.  While Stephen places insurance across all of Aon’s solution lines, he specializes in single-case judgment preservation insurance and adverse judgment insurance placements.  Prior to joining Aon, Stephen spent close to a decade as a complex commercial litigator at Boies, Schiller & Flexner, where he amassed significant trial, appellate, and arbitration experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants in the U.S. and abroad across a wide array of practice areas, and clerked in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Ed Conlon is a Managing Director in Aon’s Litigation Risk Group, and is the team’s resident insurance industry veteran, having been in the industry for over 15 years and having placed litigation and contingent risk insurance since 2015, when the market for such insurance was still in its embryonic stages.  While Ed brokes across all of Aon’s litigation and contingent insurance lines, he focuses primarily on developing cutting edge bespoke portfolio-based coverage structures for law firms, litigation funders, and other investors in litigation.  Ed also leverages his deep, battle-tested relationships across the broader insurance industry to bring new carriers into the growing litigation and contingent risk insurance market and to maximize limits and optimize coverage terms on Aon policies.  Prior to his current role, Ed led Aon’s Financial Institutions Group and, before that, was a complex commercial litigator and ran a complex commercial claims desk at AIG.

David Hodges is a Vice President and joined Aon’s Litigation Risk Group in 2021.   David brokes across all of Aon’s litigation and contingent insurance lines, and focuses primarily on single-case judgment preservation and adverse judgment insurance placements.  Prior to joining Aon, David was a complex commercial litigator at Boies, Schiller & Flexner and Lankler Siffert & Wohl, and was also a law clerk for federal judges on the Second Circuit and D.C. District Court.

Bill Baker is a Managing Director in Aon’s Litigation Risk Group and joined the team in early 2020.  Bill leads the team’s work on structured solutions, including loans that are collateralized by judgment preservation insurance policies and other financing solutions that are customized to meet the unique capital needs of our clients.  Prior to joining Aon, Bill was an investment banker at various firms throughout a 15-year career, after which time he worked in private equity and corporate roles, including strategy, corporate development, and investor relations.

Mike Kenny is a Director in Aon’s Litigation Risk Group and joined the team in 2021.  Mike is responsible for the team’s structured finance solutions, including premium finance and judgment monetization.  Mike works with clients to structure bespoke credit transactions, allowing them to leverage the combination of their judgments and insurance to access the capital markets and obtain liquidity.  Mike uses his industry relationships and a broad network of investors to help clients find the best deal terms and structure for their specific needs.  Mike is also a licensed investment banker with Aon Securities.  Prior to joining Aon, Mike was an investment banker at BTIG, where he focused on M&A, public and private financing, and strategic advisory for software industry clients.

 

Commercial

View All

Computer Weekly Provides In-Depth History of Post Office Horizon Inquiry

By Harry Moran |

The Post Office Horizon IT scandal represented not only one of the most significant cases of institutional malpractice and miscarriage of justice in British history, but also catapulted the use of litigation funding into the public spotlight.

An article in Computer Weekly provides an in-depth summary of the statutory public inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT scandal, giving readers a detailed account of all the key revelations that emerged across the last three years of the inquiry’s work. The feature breaks down these revelations on a chronological basis, starting in May 2022 with ‘phase one’ of the inquiry’s hearings and going all the way through to ‘phase seven’ in September 2024.

The feature explains how each of these seven phases gathered evidence on different aspects of the scandal, beginning in 2022 with phase one hearing testimonies from the victims, and the phase two investigation into the Horizon IT system itself.

Phase three saw the examination of the Horizon system over the subsequent year, whilst phase four switched focus to assess the activities of lawyers and investigators who participated in the subpostmasters’ prosecutions. Finally, the feature guides us through the inquiry’s work this year, with phases five and six putting the behaviour of directors, politicians and civil servants in the spotlight, before concluding with phase seven that took a broader look at the Post Office’s present and future.

Within the feature, readers can find links to individual articles that provide deep dives into each of these individual phases, cataloguing the most important pieces of evidence unearthed by the inquiry’s hearings. 

Community Spotlights

Community Spotlight: Dr. Detlef A. Huber, Managing Director, AURIGON LRC

By John Freund |

Detlef is a German attorney, former executive of a Swiss reinsurance company and as head of former Carpentum Capital Ltd. one of the pioneers of litigation funding in Latin America. Through his activities as executive in the insurance claims area and litigation funder he gained a wealth of experience in arbitrations/litigations in various businesses. He is certified arbitrator of ARIAS US and ARIAS UK (AIDA Reinsurance and Insurance Arbitration Society) and listed on the arbitrators panel of DIS (German Arbitration Institute).

He studied law in Germany and Spain, obtained a Master in European Law (Autónoma Madrid) and doctorate in insurance law (University of Hamburg).

Detlef speaks German, Spanish, English fluently and some Portuguese.

Company Name and Description:  AURIGON LRC (Litigation Risk Consulting) is at home in two worlds: dispute funding and insurance. They set up the first European litigation fund dedicated to Latin America many years ago and operate as consultants in the re/insurance sector since over a decade.

Both worlds are increasingly overlapping with insurers offering ever more litigation risk transfer products and funders recurring to insurance in order to hedge their risks. Complexity is increasing for what is already a complex product.

Aurigon acts as intermediary in the dispute finance sector and offers consultancy on relevant insurance matters.

Company Website: www.aurigon-lrc.ch

Year Founded: 2011, since 2024 offering litigation risk consulting  

Headquarters: Alte Steinhauserstr. 1, 6330 Cham/Zug Switzerland

Area of Focus:  Litigation funding related to Latin America and re/insurance disputes

Member Quote: “It´s the economy, stupid. Not my words but fits our business well. Dont focus on merits, focus on maths.”

Read More

Manolete Partners Releases Half-Year Results for the Six Months Ended 30 September 2024

By Harry Moran |

Manolete (AIM:MANO), the leading UK-listed insolvency litigation financing company, today announces its unaudited results for the six months ended 30 September 2024. 

Steven Cooklin, Chief Executive Officer, commented: 

“These are a strong set of results, particularly in terms of organic cash generation. In this six-month period, gross cash collected rose 63% to a new record at £14.3m. That strong organic cash generation comfortably covered all cash operating costs, as well as all cash costs of financing the ongoing portfolio of 413 live cases, enabling Manolete to reduce net debt by £1.25m to £11.9m as at 30 September 2024. 

As a consequence of Manolete completing a record number of 137 case completions, realised revenues rose by 60% to a further record high of £15m. That is a strong indicator of further, and similarly high levels, of near-term future cash generation. A record pipeline of 437 new case investment opportunities were received in this latest six month trading period, underpinning the further strong growth prospects for the business. 

The record £14.3.m gross cash was collected from 253 separate completed cases, highlighting the highly granular and diversified profile of Manolete’s income stream. 

Manolete has generated a Compound Average Growth Rate of 39% in gross cash receipts over the last five H1 trading periods: from H1 FY20 up to and including the current H1 FY25. The resilience of the Manolete business model, even after the extraordinary pressures presented by the extended Covid period, is now clear to see. 

This generated net cash income of £7.6m in H1 FY25 (after payment of all legal costs and all payments made to the numerous insolvent estates on those completed cases), an increase of 66% over the comparative six-month period for the prior year. Net cash income not only exceeded by £4.5m all the cash overheads required to run the Company, it also exceeded all the costs of running Manolete’s ongoing 413 cases, including the 126 new case investments made in H1 FY25. 

The Company recorded its highest ever realised revenues for H1 FY25 of £15.0m, exceeding H1 FY24 by 60%. On average, Manolete receives all the cash owed to it by the defendants of completed cases within approximately 12 months of the cases being legally completed. This impressive 60% rise in realised revenues therefore provides good near-term visibility for a continuation of Manolete’s strong, and well-established, track record of organic, operational cash generation. 

New case investment opportunities arise daily from our wide-ranging, proprietary, UK referral network of insolvency practitioner firms and specialist insolvency and restructuring solicitor practices. We are delighted to report that the referrals for H1 FY25 reached a new H1 company record of 437. A 27% higher volume than in H1 FY24, which was itself a new record for the Company this time last year. That points to a very healthy pipeline as we move forward into the second half of the trading year.” 

Financial highlights: 

  • Total revenues increased by 28% to £14.4m from H1 FY24 (£11.2m) as a result of the outstanding delivery of realised revenues generated in the six months to 30th September 2024.
    • Realised revenues achieved a record level of £15.0m in H1 FY25, a notable increase of 60% on H1 FY24 (£9.4m). This provides good visibility of near-term further strong cash generation, as on average Manolete collects all cash on settled cases within approximately 12 months of the legal settlement of those cases
    • Unrealised revenue in H1 FY25 was £(633k) compared to £1.8m for the comparative H1 FY24. This was due to: (1) the record number of 137 case completions in H1 FY25, which resulted in a beneficial movement from Unrealised revenues to Realised revenues; and (2) the current lower average fair value of new case investments made relative to the higher fair value of the completed cases. The latter point also explains the main reason for the marginally lower gross profit reported of £4.4m in this period, H1 FY25, compared to £5.0m in H1 FY24. 
  • EBIT for H1 FY25 was £0.7m compared to H1 FY24 of £1.6m. As well as the reduced Gross profit contribution explained above, staff costs increased by £165k to £2.3m and based on the standard formula used by the Company to calculate Expected Credit Losses, (“ECL”), generated a charge of £140k (H1 3 FY24: £nil) due to trade debtors rising to £26.8m as at 30 September 2024, compared to £21.7m as at 30 September 2023. The trade debtor increase was driven by the outstanding record level of £15.0m Realised revenues achieved in H1 FY25.
  • Loss Before Tax was (£0.2m) compared to a Profit Before Tax of £0.9m in H1 FY24, due to the above factors together with a lower corporation tax charge being largely offset by higher interest costs. 
  • Basic earnings per share (0.5) pence (H1 FY24: 1.4 pence).
  • Gross cash generated from completed cases increased 63% to £14.3m in the 6 months to 30 September 2024 (H1 FY24: £8.7m). 5-year H1 CAGR: 39%.
  • Cash income from completed cases after payments of all legal costs and payments to Insolvent Estates rose by 66% to £7.6m (H1 FY24: £4.6m). 5-year H1 CAGR: 46%.
  • Net cashflow after all operating costs but before new case investments rose by 193% to £4.5m (H1 FY24: £1.5m). 5-year H1 CAGR: 126%.
  • Net assets as at 30 September 2024 were £40.5m (H1 FY24: £39.8m). Net debt was reduced to £11.9m and comprises borrowings of £12.5m, offset by cash balances of £0.6m. (Net debt as 31 March 2024 was £12.3m.)
  • £5m of the £17.5m HSBC Revolving Credit Facility remains available for use, as at 30 September 2024. That figure does not take into account the Company’s available cash balances referred to above.

Operational highlights:

  • Ongoing delivery of record realised returns: 137 case completions in H1 FY25 representing a 18% increase (116 case realisations in H1 FY24), generating gross settlement proceeds receivable of £13.9m for H1 FY25, which is 51% higher than the H1 FY24 figure of £9.2m. This very strong increase in case settlements provides visibility for further high levels of cash income, as it takes the Company, on average, around 12 months to collect in all cash from previously completed cases.
  • The average realised revenue per completed case (“ARRCC”) for H1 FY25 was £109k, compared to the ARRCC of £81k for H1 FY24. That 35% increase in ARRCC is an important and an encouraging Key Performance Indicator for the Company. Before the onset and impact of the Covid pandemic in 2020, the Company was achieving an ARRCC of approximately £200k. Progress back to that ARRCC level, together with the Company maintaining its recent high case acquisition and case completion volumes, would lead to a material transformation of Company profitability.
  • The 137 cases completed in H1 FY25 had an average case duration of 15.7 months. This was higher than the average case duration of 11.5 months for the 118 cases completed in H1 FY24, because in H1 FY25 Manolete was able to complete a relatively higher number of older cases, as evidenced by the Vintages Table below.
  • Average case duration across Manolete’s full lifetime portfolio of 1,064 completed cases, as at 30 September 2024 was 13.3 months (H1 FY24: 12.7 months).
  • Excluding the Barclays Bounce Back Loan (“BBL”) pilot cases, new case investments remained at historically elevated levels of 126 for H1 FY25 (H1 FY24: 146 new case investments).
  • New case enquiries (again excluding just two Barclays BBL pilot cases from the H1 FY24 figure) achieved another new Company record of 437 in H1 FY25, 27% higher than the H1 FY24 figure of 343. This excellent KPI is a strong indicator of future business performance and activity levels.
  • Stable portfolio of live cases: 413 in progress as at 30 September 2024 (417 as at 30 September 2023) which includes 35 live BBLs.
  • Excluding the Truck Cartel cases, all vintages up to and including the 2019 vintage have now been fully, and legally completed. Only one case remains ongoing in the 2020 vintage. 72% of the Company’s live cases have been signed in the last 18 months.
  • The Truck Cartel cases continue to progress well. As previously reported, settlement discussions, to varying degrees of progress, continue with a number of Defendant manufacturers. Further updates will be provided as concrete outcomes emerge.
  • The Company awaits the appointment of the new Labour Government’s Covid Corruption Commissioner and hopes that appointment will set the clear direction of any further potential material involvement for Manolete in the Government’s BBL recovery programme.
  • The Board proposes no interim dividend for H1 FY25 (H1 FY24: £nil).

The full report of Manolete’s half-year results can be read here.

Read More