DENMARK Law and Practice Contributed by: Josefine Movin Østergaard and Johannes Hedegaard, Bruun & Hjejle
6. Third-Party Claims and Defence Trends 6.1 Third-Party Claims and Direct Actions Third-party claims and direct actions against insur- ers are most developed in liability insurance, where injured parties may bring claims directly against the insurer. Direct claims are most common in motor vehicle liabil- ity, where the Danish Road Traffic Act ( færdselsloven ) grants injured parties a statutory right to claim directly against the tortfeasor’s insurer. The Danish Maritime Act ( søloven ) similarly provides specific statutory bas- es for direct action. 6.2 Emerging Liability and Defence Trends Recent developments influencing the defence of claims against insureds in Denmark include height- ened regulatory scrutiny, increased awareness of reputational risk, and the growing incidence of co- ordinated multi-claimants’ actions. Insurers have increasingly entered into mutual agree- ments to waive or limit subrogation rights, avoid- ing protracted and resource-intensive inter-insurer disputes. Such arrangements reflect a pragmatic approach to reducing administrative costs and ena- bling a more efficient defence posture. Also, Danish insurers are continuously improving their advisory processes and documentation, both to pro- tect their reputation and to meet the increasing regula- tory scrutiny in the sector. 7. Geopolitical Factors 7.1 Geopolitical Drivers of Insurance Disputes There are no official statistics showing that recent geopolitical developments have increased the over- all volume of insurance litigation in Denmark. How- ever, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU sanctions regime, and energy-market volatility have generated coverage disputes, particularly in Denmark’s maritime and energy sectors. These dispute and coverage ten- sions include marine, and cargo claims with a Rus- sia or Ukraine nexus, trade-credit losses involving
sanctioned counterparties, and business-interruption claims arising from supply-chain disruption and ener- gy-price volatility. 7.2 Sanctions and Payment Challenges Denmark applies EU sanctions directly, and evolving EU restrictive measures against Russia and Belarus have created operational and legal challenges for Danish insurers. Payment screening obligations have, in some instances, delayed or blocked claims pay- ments where a sanctioned party is involved in the loss chain. Insurers have adopted enhanced compliance procedures and, in certain cases, relied on sanctions exclusion clauses or the general principle that perfor- mance of an illegal act cannot be required. 7.3 War, Political Risk and Exclusions War, terrorism and political-risk exclusions have come under heightened scrutiny following the Russia- Ukraine conflict. Key questions concern how tradition- al exclusionary language applies to modern forms of conflict, including cyber operations, sanctions, hybrid warfare and “grey zone” activity that may not amount to formally declared war. Many Danish policies exclude losses arising directly or indirectly from acts of war. Application depends on policy wording, causation standards, and whether the loss can be attributed to war, terrorism or politi- cal violence. Uncertainty arises where causes operate concurrently or the connection with armed conflict is indirect, potentially leaving businesses without cover- age for Ukraine-related losses even where the imme- diate cause is not military action. Insurers have responded by refining exclusionary lan- guage, introducing specific Russia-Ukraine conflict exclusions, and adding territorial limitations. Cyber- insurance raises particular issues: whether a state- attributed cyber-attack constitutes “war” or a “hostile act” under the policy remains uncertain, especially where state involvement is indirect. There is limited Danish case law interpreting these exclusions in relation to recent events, and no settled judicial approach to state-sponsored cyber-attacks or hybrid conflicts has emerged.
98 I NSURANCE L I T IGATI O N 2026
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