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Alan R. Lyons: profile
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Alan Lyons concentrates his practice on insurance and reinsurance matters. He is national coverage counsel for insurers and risk retention groups, handling complex coverage litigation in federal and state courts across the country involving a variety of lines of insurance, including commercial general liability, directors and officers liability, and first-party property insurance. Alan's insurance coverage practice has included litigation and arbitration involving the following issues:

  • Catastrophic losses arising out of Hurricane Katrina and 9/11
  • Interpretation of various forms of pollution exclusions including whether they apply to indoor-air pollution or only to traditional environmental pollution
  • Toxic tort litigation involving asbestos, lead-paint litigation and mold-related claims involving both first-party and third-party insurance
  • Competing "other insurance" provisions, and priority of coverage among concurrent and consecutive insurers
  • Application of different methods of allocation and trigger of coverage
  • Number of occurrences
  • Late notice
  • Interpretation of coverage under additional insured endorsements
  • Excess, bad faith, extra-contractual and punitive damage claims involving both first- and third-party coverage
  • Coverage under directors and officers liability policies for underlying shareholder class actions and shareholder derivative lawsuits
  • Coverage for employment discrimination, harassment and wrongful termination claims
  • Claims arising from large construction projects involving builders' risk policies and liability policies
  • Environmental claims involving aviation liability insurance policies

Alan represents reinsureds and reinsurers in litigation and reinsurance arbitrations through to awards involving issues such as follow the fortunes/settlements, allocation disputes, the use and accounting of finite reinsurance, interpretation of warranty provisions, reinsurers' collateral obligations and the scope of contractual offset provisions.

Alan also advises insurers and reinsurers regarding their policy and treaty language, and drafts insurance policies/endorsements and reinsurance agreements. For example, Alan has drafted several insurance policies for a European insurer's alternative risk transfer products for its global customers in areas such as political risks, professional liability, construction and nuclear energy.

Alan also advises insurers and reinsurers in developing and structuring new insurance products, including preparing the necessary transactional documents, analyzing regulatory compliance matters, and forming captives and risk retention groups.

Alan works closely with Herrick's real estate, litigation and corporate clients in serving their insurance needs, including drafting insurance provisions in leases, construction management agreements and licensing agreements.

Prior to relocating to New York in 1998, Alan, a British citizen, practiced as a solicitor in Leeds, England in litigation and real estate matters.