Insurance and Risk

We are experts in insurance law and the lawyers for the Underwriting Agency Council. We deliver comprehensive advisory, claims and dispute resolution services and assist businesses in the financial services sector with regulatory and compliance issues.

Overview

We have focused on the provision of legal services to the Australian insurance market since 1989 and deliver a complete legal service for the insurance industry.

  • Claims advice
  • Management of claims and insurance related disputes
  • Dual insurance disputes
  • Subrogation actions
  • Policy drafting
  • Indemnity advice and indemnity disputes
  • Contract analysis identifying the impact on insurance programs
  • Compliance Issues for Financial Service Licensees and Financial Services advice
    Corporate Governance for insurance companies and intermediaries
  • Insurance Contracts Act advicePremium recovery
  • Licensing , APRA and ASIC issues
  • Acquisitions of Insurance Brokers and Underwriting Agencies
  • Insurance schemes, Discretionary Mutual Funds, group purchasing body insurance schemes and ASIC relief for managed funds that offer insurance
  • Negotiation of contract provisions including indemnity and insurance clauses in contracts
  • Actions against former employees for breaches of restraint of trade and confidentiality obligations
  • Advice on Privacy legislation

Claims

We offer a broad range of services in insurance claims litigation and can assist with a wide range of insurances classes including:

  • Compulsory Third Party Insurance
  • Construction and Contract Works
  • Directors & Officers and Management Liability
  • Employment Practices
  • Home Warranty Insurance
  • Liability- Public and Products
  • Life and Personal Accident
  • Statutory Fines Cover
  • Marine and Aviation
  • Property and Industrial Special Risk
  • Professional Indemnity
  • Workers Compensation

We provide intuitive legal strategies for the investigation, management and resolution of claims. The strategies are developed in collaboration with clients and a consistent agreed approach ensures the delivery of best practice claims management.

We analyse the commercial and legal impact of all claims, the impact of deductibles, the costs of any dispute process, the merits of the claim and recovery potential. We implement settlement strategies consistent with the potential of the claim.

We try to simplify issues rather than over complicate them. We explain information in plain language and respond promptly and effectively. We will keep you informed and ensure investigators, assessors, experts, collection agents and loss adjusters that assist in claims provide value for money services.

We are committed to delivering a quality claims service in a manner which will exceed your expectations.

Policy & Indemnity Issues:

Our expertise in policy drafting and indemnity disputes is reflected in the work we have carried out.

We have crafted wordings in a wide range of insurance classes and assist underwriters, underwriting agencies and insurance brokers with wording reviews, endorsements, advice on the legality of proposed insurance arrangements and compliance with Australian laws. We have expertise in reviewing and crafting policies that deal with:

  • Construction & Engineering Risks
    Section 1 & Section 2
  • D&O Risks
  • Home Warranty Insurance
  • Employment Practices Cover
  • Legal Expense Insurance
  • Liability Insurance- Property and General
  • Personal Accident Insurance
  • Statutory Fine Cover

We regularly advise on policy coverage and have been involved in indemnity disputes that have involved the analysis and interpretation of:

  • Insuring Clauses
  • Errors and Omissions coverage
  • Contractual liability exclusions
  • Product recall exclusions
  • Efficacy exclusions
  • Goods in custody and control exclusions
  • Professional advice exclusions
  • Non disclosure and misrepresentation in Personal Accident and Life Insurance claims
  • Claims for pure economic loss
  • Definitions of Damage
  • Whether there was one occurrence or a series of events that resulted in one occurrence
  • Non disclosure
  • Misrepresentation
  • Indemnity disputes in Professional Indemnity claims involving failure to notify and the impact of section 54 of the Insurance Contracts Act
  • Inaccurate description of “Business” in the policy schedule
  • Liability of the statutory workers compensation policy for contractual liability (High Court)
  • Dual insurance claims and “other insurance” clauses
  • Indemnity disputes in CTP claims involving loading and unloading of vehicles, defective seats and defects in vehicles

Business Law:

  • Acquisition of Insurance Brokerages and Underwriting Agencies
  • Corporate structuring and financing including prospectus/offering memoranda preparation and due diligence investigations
  • Joint venture agreements
  • Authorised Representative Agreements
  • Binder Agreements
  • Preparation of applications for licences under the Insurance Act
  • Challenges by APRA to an Insurance Licence concerning solvency margins and fit and proper persons acting as directors
  • ACCC investigations
  • Preparation of Competition and Consumer Compliance Manuals
  • Company Secretariat services

Speak with one of our Insurance and Risk experts today!