Insurance law practice | McDermott insurance lawyers

McDermott Will & Schulte, a global law firm

Insurance

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The insurance industry operates under constant scrutiny from regulators, policyholders, investors, and counterparties – and InsurTech innovation is reshaping the market. Our insurance law practice guides you through regulatory complexity, growth opportunities, and technological change to help you stay competitive in a rapidly evolving industry.

With a cross-border team of more than 40 insurance lawyers, we advise insurers, reinsurers, brokers, investors, policyholders, and other insurance market participants. Drawing on experience representing stakeholders throughout the industry, we develop legal strategies informed by market realities, regulatory expectations, and the interconnected relationships that shape the insurance ecosystem.

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Additional Industries

Captive insurer & risk retention group formation, governance & taxation

Class action defense

InsurTech

Federal, state, and local taxation of insurers & reinsurers

Health Insurance

Insurance Coverage Litigation & Counseling

Transactions & Private Equity

Transactions, Regulatory & Technology

California at a crossroads: SB 254 study maps systemic reforms for wildfire and catastrophe resilience

In 2025, the California legislature tasked the California Earthquake Authority (CEA), as administrator of the state’s Wildfire Fund, to prepare the Senate Bill 254 (2025) Study Report, considering 10 recommendations that the state legislature and Governor Newsom agreed should be studied to help California become more resilient to natural catastrophes:

  1. Enhance access to and affordability of property insurance
  2. Evaluate options to socialize the financial risk of natural catastrophes
  3. Consider mitigation measures and technology solutions to reduce the incidence of wildfires and retard their spread
  4. Develop ways to speed compensation to victims of wildfires and speed recovery
  5. Protect utility ratepayers by helping utilities improve safety and reduce wildfire risk
  6. Streamline and lower the costs of compensating those injured by wildfires
  7. Consider ways and means to limit the cost of claims for wildfire damage, including possible damage limitations (e.g., establishing per-event aggregate limits, limiting public entity damage awards, capping attorneys’ fees, and limiting the ability of property owners outside wildfire perimeters to recover damages)
  8. Related to number 3 above, lower the risk of wildfires spreading by implementing property-specific and community-wide hardening and similar measures
  9. Close insurance gaps with minimum insurance requirements, match insurance rate reductions/discounts with mitigation measures, and improve emergency responses and land use planning
  10. Consider new models and structures to replace or complement the state’s Wildfire Fund

The authors make the case for an “all-of-government, all-of-society” effort to solve interconnected problems and achieve the following goals:

  • Supplying Californian ratepayers with affordable, reliable, clean, and safe electric energy
  • Providing California property owners with affordable, competitive, fairly regulated property insurance
  • Ensuring safe and resilient communities

The report acknowledges that climate change is “systematically” pressuring – and will continue to pressure – efforts to achieve these goals.


“The group is superior in its knowledge and ability to represent business clients zealously and intelligently.”

Ranked Band 3 in New York: Insurance-Transactional & Regulatory, Chambers USA 2020

“An excellent team and strong firm across many disciplines.”

Ranked Band 2 in District of Columbia: Insurance-Insurer, Chambers USA 2020

Band 2 in New York: Insurance: Transactional & Regulatory

Band 2 in New York: Insurance: Transactional & Regulatory

Chambers USA 2025

Tier 1 in Insurance Law

Tier 1 in Insurance Law

Best Law Firms US 2026

Shortlisted for M&A Advisor of the Year

Shortlisted for M&A Advisor of the Year

The Insurer, Program Manager Awards 2026

Tier 1 in Washington, DC and New York for Insurance Law

Tier 1 in Washington, DC and New York for Insurance Law

Best Law Firms US 2026

Ranked in Insurance: Non-Contentious & Insurance: Advice to Insurers

Ranked in Insurance: Non-Contentious & Insurance: Advice to Insurers

Legal 500 US 2025

Results

M&A

  • Represented a property and casualty insurance firm with eight subsidiary businesses and almost 400 professionals, in its sale to a subsidiary of a Chicago-based financial technology business
  • Represented an investment banking company on the insurance transactional and regulatory aspects of an insurance company’s $3.4 billion capital raise with a $3 billion senior preferred stock transaction and a $454 million junior preferred investment by a separate consortium
  • Represented an international specialty insurer and reinsurer on its investment in and partnership with a Texas-based specialty (re)insurance intermediary and alternative asset advisory firm, an investment in insurance technology company, as well as its formation of and investment in an insurance underwriting company

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InsurTech

  • Represented a Swiss family office, in its Series B investment in a digital insurance producer that empowers people to buy home and auto insurance hassle free on their smartphones, tablets or computers in minutes
  • Served as lead investor in a Series B funding of a digital financial services company serving the emerging middle class and providers to the gig economy
  • Represented a global reinsurer on its strategic insurance partnership and investment in insurance technology company

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Regulation

  • Represented multiple clients on premium refunds and payment grace periods, cancellation moratoria, business interruption coverage, and business planning related to the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Represented a non-profit travel insurance organization as national counsel for the enactment of the NAIC/NCOIL Travel Insurance Model Act and various matters related to the regulation of travel insurance
  • Represented a global re/insurer and its affiliated MGA on a digital retail shipment tracking platform and related insurance products

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Capital markets & securities

  • Represented a full-service reinsurance intermediary company as underwriters counsel in its purchase of $210 million aggregate principal amount Series 2020-1 Class A Principal-At-Risk Variable Rate Notes due January 8, 2024 issued by 2001 CAT Re, Ltd
  • Represented an insurance company selling California earthquake insurance policies as special counsel in its catastrophe bond program with Ursa Re II Ltd., issuing $425 million Series 2020-1 Class AA Principal-at-Risk Variable Rate Notes and $350 million Series 2020-1 Class D Principal-at-Risk Variable Rate Notes
  • Represented an insurance company selling California earthquake insurance policies as special counsel, in its perennially sponsored catastrophe bonds

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Litigation

  • Acted as lead counsel for a captive insurance company regarding the historic settlement of more than 10,000 tort claims against the City of New York and its contractors by first responders, trade union workers and volunteers arising out of the rescue and recovery operations at the former World Trade Center site and nearby locations on and after September 11, 2001. Our team argued and won the appeal before the US Court of Appeals for Second Circuit regarding implementation of the settlement. In addition, we recovered approximately $230 million from the London marine and non-marine markets after winning summary judgment in the company’s contribution action against certain of those insurers.
  • Served as counsel to a commercial insurer and liaison counsel for 12 of its co-insurers with respect to the largest settlement of Roman Catholic clergy sexual abuse cases in US history, as well as lead reinsurance counsel to the commercial insurer relating to its cession and disputes with its reinsurers arising from the settlement
  • Represented several clients of a top-tier health insurance company in a national class action filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida by non-physician medical providers alleging that the health plans conspired to deny reimbursement for medically necessary services rendered by the providers to the health plans’ insureds. We obtained a dismissal with prejudice of the complaint for failure to plead the conspiracy allegations with sufficient particularity

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Tax

  • Advised the exclusive US representative for the sport of swimming on the US Olympic Committee, on its attempt to re-domesticate its 25-year-old Barbados captive to the District of Columbia to save significant costs. An onshore captive is advantageous in that this type of LLC will be disregarded for tax purposes, thus allowing it to benefit from the tax-exempt status of its sole member. In a unique structuring, we planned to transfer the new captive arrangements to a DC-based limited liability company, and secured the approval of the Barbados financial services commission and the DC authorities
  • Advised Switzerland’s largest insurer, and one of the largest insurers in the world, in relation to the formation of a captive insurance structure. We assisted with the legal and tax aspects of the development of a Vermont-based cell captive, designed to be a risk sharing mechanism for its international business
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Key contacts

Margaret H. Warner

Partner

Washington, DC

Michael R. Halsband

Partner

New York – One Vanderbilt Avenue