Christopher Foster

About Christopher

Christopher Foster is the Global Head of Insurance & Reinsurance at HFW. He is a solicitor advocate with over thirty years’ experience in contentious insurance and reinsurance matters, often with an international element, and commercial litigation generally.

Christopher acts for insurers, reinsurers, brokers, and major insured entities and their captive insurers. His experience includes COVID-19, Ukraine related aircraft losses; California wildfires; Greensill; the invasion of Kuwait; WorldCom; Exxon Valdez oil spill; Madoff; hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Juliette, Ivan, Wilma, Maria and Irma; the Hatfield rail crash; the Winterthur XL baseball arbitration; hip implants; the Lloyd’s litigation; the alleged Algosaibi frauds; Australian bushfires; PPI; film finance (including tax schemes); abuse claims; the PA spiral; asbestos; pollution; the bankruptcy of Enron; pharmaceutical liabilities; 9/11; Venezuelan political risks; disruptions caused by volcanic ash; the Grenfell Tower fire; and Graff on its Bond Street robbery and on its cyber loss claim.

Christopher acts on a variety of professional indemnity matters.  He was seconded to the legal team of one of the world’s leading brokers and has acted on numerous brokers’ errors and omissions disputes. He has particular Bermuda Form experience, and on matters affecting the run-off market. He is also instructed by clients on more general commercial disputes. He is the author of the arbitration chapter in the Insurance Institute of London’s book, Alternative Dispute Resolution in Practice, and a former member of the Insurance Committee of the City of London Law Society.

Christopher is ranked in Band 1 in Chambers UK and in the “Hall of Fame” in Legal 500. The current (2026) edition of Chambers describes him as “one of the titans of insurance litigation” and Legal 500 as “one of the leading lights of the London insurance law world – he has unrivalled expertise in both domestic and international matters; one of the safest pairs of hands.”.

Historic comments in those directories have included: “Probably the best solicitor I have had the pleasure of working with. He is razor-sharp”, “a first-rate litigator and one of the best in the City”, “he’s everything you could need or want from an external lawyer”, “a stand out black letter lawyer”, “has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the law”, “client friendly, astute and highly intelligent”, an “ingenious, quick-thinking man who you want to have on your side in a scrap”, “clever, energetic and plain-speaking”, “extreme strength in terms of legal acumen and commercial solutions”, “he is my ‘go to’ solicitor for any tricky case”, and “a guy who can talk knowledgeably across a whole range of areas”.

Christopher is also named as a “Thought Leader” in the Lexology Index for Insurance.

Christopher has been appointed as an expert on English insurance/reinsurance law in various proceedings in the USA.

Christopher is qualified in England and Wales.