PIL.OT / DEVELOPMENT
PIL.OTv0.62.2
Oliver D William addresses the reinsurer’s “follow the settlements” and “follow the fortunes” duties in cross-border reinsurance contracts. Published in the Uniform Law Review, the article examines Article 2.4.3 of the Principles of Reinsurance Contract Law through the divergent approaches of German-speaking legal systems, English law and the United States.
It focuses on whether the duty to follow settlements arises without express agreement and the limits within which it operates. The article also considers whether the two duties should be distinguished, and presents the PRICL as an attempt to reduce fragmentation in reinsurance law and improve certainty in the global market.
Whether and within what limits a reinsurer’s duty to follow settlements arises under applicable law and uniform rules in cross-border reinsurance contracts
The article frames a concrete applicable-law problem in cross-border reinsurance: the extent to which a reinsurer is bound by settlements concerning insured losses and how the two follow duties should be distinguished. Its comparative analysis explains the PRICL’s proposed response to divergent national approaches and its stated aim of improving legal certainty.
Uniform Law Review · 2026
DOI 10.1093/ulr/unag031
Oliver D William, “Principles of reinsurance contract law 2025: towards the unification of reinsurance contract law—a case study on the reinsurer’s duty to follow the settlements”, Uniform Law Review, 2026-08-18, 10.1093/ulr/unag031. https://doi.org/10.1093/ulr/unag031