Expert Witness Journal Issue 67 June/July 2026 - Flipbook - Page 95
easily be undermined by the opposition’s expert
or counsel under cross examination. Guiding an
expert, who is new to litigation, through the process
is therefore a tactical necessity but this does not come
without cost consequences for insurers, as it can be a
resource heavy endeavour for legal representatives.
•
Conduct “full and frank” discussions with
potential experts to assess the extent of their
ability to opine on the standard of reasonable
skill and care to which the emerging professional
will be held, to assess their experience of
providing expert reports and to gauge whether
the experience that they do have is transferable
i.e. inquiry work is often similar to Civil
Procedure Rules work, albeit with a di昀昀erent
focus and di昀昀erent requirements/timeframes.
•
Seek the policyholder’s input on the
identi昀椀cation and directly relevant expertise of
any potential expert.
•
Ensure that insurers are aware of the potential
increased costs and time that may be incurred
in instructing and managing an expert in an
emerging 昀椀eld. This extra time will need to be
factored into any reserving advice.
The role of the “emerging” professional
Rather than the legal team drawing from their pool
of tried and tested experts (as they would in a claim
against a “traditional” professional), the policyholder
is often the best placed party to recommend a
potential expert based on sector pro昀椀les, awareness
of relevant professional organisations and also to
assess the relevance of the speci昀椀c skills expertise of
a potential expert witness. Their input may be the
primary vetting mechanism for expert witnesses and
in many claims, they are key in terms of challenging
a claimant’s technical expert evidence on speci昀椀c
allegations.
Practical tips
•
Make enquiries with potential expert witnesses
regarding availability and con昀氀ict checks
as early as possible — ideally as soon as a
Preliminary Notice is received.
EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL
93
JUNE 2026
