Chloe Derrick is a Partner in the Policyholder Disputes department. Her practice focuses on helping clients – or policyholders – navigate insurance disputes, including business interruption, property, energy and construction, financial and professional risks and casualty.
Chloe is a rising star partner in the insurance disputes field who has been recognised by market sources as both “one of the strongest technical lawyers” and possessing “phenomenal interpersonal skills”. Chloe is also recognised across the firm for her entrepreneurship and ability to build strong lasting relationships with clients and referral sources.
Tell us a bit about yourself, your background and your current role.
I am a Partner in the Policyholder Disputes department at dispute resolution specialist law firm Stewarts. I work on a wide range of professional negligence and complex insurance claims, including property damage and business interruption, political risk, directors’ and officers’ (D&O), warranty and indemnity (W&I), marine cargo, product liability and cyber risk, among others. I joined Stewarts in 2023 from Mishcon de Reya, and before that, I spent several years in the professional and financial risks team at RPC.
Did you ever sit down and plan your career?
I studied law at Sixth Form and knew at that time that I wanted to be a lawyer, but I never planned out the route I would take, or the type of lawyer I wanted to be.
After I finished university and completed the LPC, I worked as a paralegal in an insurance team in Manchester and since then my career has always had an insurance focus. I very much ‘fell into’ insurance (as many people do) and haven’t looked back. After I qualified, I specialised in defending professional indemnity claims and advising insurers on coverage disputes. I then chose to draw on that expertise and act exclusively for policyholders in coverage disputes against their insurers, initially at Mishcon de Reya before moving to Stewarts.
At its heart, the insurance industry is a marketplace and that’s what drew me in. I have always enjoyed how interconnected it is as a professional network. It is not unusual to be working alongside ex-colleagues, who might have moved roles to work for an insurer or a broker for example and so it’s a fantastic community to work within.
Have you faced any challenges along the way?
There have been plenty of obstacles to overcome – but I think every season of your life has challenges. I think that I have learnt how to embrace change and challenges. Not only do they represent an opportunity for growth and improvement, but challenges will push you to take steps to carve out the path you want to be on.
How did you persevere through the tough times?
Hard work, determination – and telephone calls to my family. From a big picture perspective, I always think of tough times like the ocean. You just need to ride the wave and calmer seas will come.
What one thing do you believe has been a major factor in you achieving success
I read a quote some time ago from former US Secretary of State Colin Powell, which has always stuck with me: “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.”
If you could change one thing to accelerate the pace of change for Gender Parity, what would it be?
It is great that we are seeing progress in gender equality, but there is still a significant amount of work to be done to achieve gender equity in management and leadership roles. I don’t believe there is necessarily one action that can accelerate the pace of change; it needs to be a continued, collective, effort by businesses to review why women are not progressing at those levels and then set out the steps they intend to take to address factors which impact women’s career development. There needs to be ongoing corporate accountability to accelerate change.
If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?
A happy life is all about balance.
What is your next challenge and what are you hoping to achieve in the future?
I joined the Policyholder Disputes team at Stewarts last year, which is a relatively new practice area for the firm. The focus for now is very much on continuing to build a first-class team and contributing to the firm’s overall success.
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