Marie-Claire Di Mambro

Marie-Claire advises individual and business policyholders on complex insurance coverage and insurance policy disputes in all areas of insurance business, including financial risks, household, property, casualty, marine, construction, travel, life and health.

• Acted for a UK group of 19 construction companies in successfully negotiating a multimillion-pound Covid-19 business interruption claim on their behalf against a well-known insurer, involving complex arguments on liability and aggregation.
• Acted for a senior executive in successfully bringing a multimillion-pound income protection insurance claim.
• Acted for an industrial gas supplier in negotiating the settlement of a substantial property insurance damage claim following an explosion at their premises.
• Acted for a commercial laundry in a major fire loss insurance claim involving complex issues concerning alleged breach of the Fair Presentation of the Risk duty under the Insurance Act 2015 and alleged breaches of warranty. The insurer agreed to pay the claim in full.
• Acted for a high-profile individual in a substantial travel insurance dispute in which the insurer alleged that an exclusion clause was engaged entitling them to decline the claim. The insurer backed down and agreed to pay the claim in full.
• Acting for an individual policyholder regarding a substantial water damage claim brought under their home insurance policy, following a burst water pipe. The insurer argued that there had been breaches of several of the unoccupancy conditions, but they backed down following our intervention.
• Acted for several construction companies in substantial disputes with their insurers over a claims brought under contractors all risks policies involving many complex and technical points.
• Acted for a design company in successfully negotiating a substantial business interruption insurance settlement of losses incurred during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Acted for joint landlords under a landlords’ insurance policy in relation to a large fire claim on their rental property. The property was timber-framed and the insurer sought to avoid the policy due to an alleged non-disclosure in that regard. Secured a full reversal of that decision following complex technical argument.
• Acted for numerous ex-service personnel involved in the security business in bringing claims for permanent total disablement pursuant to group personal accident policies.
• Acted for a care home operator in a substantial fire claim at one of their care homes in which the insurer alleged that the fair presentation duty had been breached due to a failure to disclose the prior tax affairs of the business. The claim involved complex issues surrounding the SDLT affairs of our client in the purchase of the care home, but insurers backed down and agreed to settle the multimillion-pound claim.
• Acted for a wealth management company in relation to a professional indemnity insurance policy dispute concerning UCIS sales claims, involving purported policy avoidance due to alleged non-disclosures. The multimillion-pound claim was brought against London Market insurer and brokers and successfully settled at a tripartite mediation.
• Acted for a large group of lessees in successfully bringing a multimillion-pound claim under a building guarantee insurance policy, which involved highly technical construction issues.
• Acted for a nursery operator who had suffered a collapsed wall at their premises whose insurer had declined their claim alleging that the wall had collapsed due to wear and tear and so was excluded under the policy. Favourable expert evidence was deployed casting doubt on this argument which eventually led to the insurer agreeing to pay the claim.
• Acted on behalf of a plumbing and heating services company following a large fire loss in challenging a policy avoidance/claim declinature, due to an alleged under-declaration of stock. The claim was settled favourably at mediation and the balance of the loss was claimed from the client’s insurance broker.
• Acted for homeowners in relation to a landslip claim which had caused their house partially to collapse and become condemned. After complex negotiations with the insurer and the neighbours’ insurer and escalating the matter to the local council, a deal was brokered between all interested parties so that our clients’ claim was settled to their satisfaction and their home was reinstated.
• Acted for a homeowner on a complex subsidence insurance claim which was successfully concluded via the Financial Ombudsman Service.
• Acted on behalf of an Isle of Man-based trust and corporate services provider in a complex multimillion-pound coverage dispute under their D&O and PI covers. The dispute, which was centred around complex coverage arguments, was settled favourably via negotiation. A subsequent negligence claim against their insurance brokers for the unrecovered balance of their claim was also settled favourably via negotiation.
• Acted for a yacht owner on a hull damage claim following a grounding incident. The claim was brought under a yacht hull & property insurance policy. The insurers alleged various breaches of conditions precedent, including alleged late notification, but backed down and agreed to pay the claim after our input.
• Acted for individuals on complex and high-value critical illness, income protection, and life insurance claims.

Marie-Claire brings claims against professionals involved in the insurance, construction, and legal sectors.

• Acted for a high-net-worth individual in successfully bringing a claim against his former solicitors for failing to advise that he should have taken out after-the-event insurance in a proprietary estoppel dispute in which he sustained substantial and avoidable legal costs.
• Acted for an individual in successfully bringing a claim against his former solicitors for failing to issue legal proceedings within the limitation deadline on a claim against his former financial advisers.
• Acted for a company operating beauty salons in bringing a substantial claim against his former solicitors for failing to bring a claim on time against the neighbouring property owner, who had negligently started a fire which damaged one of their salons. The claim was hotly disputed on causation issues, due to alleged problems with the underlying claim and disputes as to the level of damages claimed. It was settled very favourably at mediation.
• Acted for a high-net-worth individual against an architect for defectively designing an air heating/cooling system in his substantial London property.
• Acted for a GP practice against an architect who failed to stick to the design brief for a multimillion-pound new-build surgery.
• Acted for a property developer against their former solicitors (a City firm) who had been guilty of numerous failures in relation to a property transaction, including failure to advise on an onerous easement, which had resulted in a significant loss to the client. The claim was settled very favourably at mediation.
• Brought numerous claims against insurance brokers on behalf of individuals and commercial clients for breaches of duty in many areas, including failure to advise clients correctly as to the presentation of risks and failure to secure policies which meet their clients’ demands and needs.

Recognised by Chambers UK for Insurance Policy Holders 2025–2027

Recognised by the Chambers Global for Insurance Policy Holders 2026

Recognised by The Legal 500 for Insurance Policy Holders 2025–2027

Recognised in “Firms to Watch” by The Legal 500 2022 for Insurance Litigation: For Policyholders