Contribution between insurers: contingent liability

In The Russian Aircraft Litigation − Operator Policy Claims [2026] EWHC 1134 (Comm); [2026] Lloyd's Rep IR 440 Picken J considered the availability of contribution where insurer A faced primary liability to the assured and insurer B faced liability to the assured only on the contingency that insurer A failed to pay. Picken J came to the unsurprising conclusion that unless the liability of the two insurers was concurrent rather than consecutive, there was no contribution.

The facts