Ashurst's Insurance and Reinsurance practice provides a service
that is both innovative and commercial due to our lawyers' deep
understanding of the insurance and reinsurance markets and the
applicable regulatory framework across numerous jurisdictions.
Members of our team have worked for industry regulators and
in-house for insurers, reinsurers and brokers, providing us with
important industry relationships, a high degree of knowledge and
specialisation and commercial understanding.
Clients the team regularly act for include Aviva, Old Mutual Group,
Willis, Barbican Group Holdings, Liberty International
Underwriters, Aon, Westpac Life, IAG Re, Genworth, ANZ LMI, Sompo,
Nipponkoa, Mitsui insurance division, Domestic and General
Insurance, OnePath, Macquarie Life, GE Hallmark and IMA (a joint
venture between IAG and RACV), Lloyds TSB Insurance division, and
Barclays Insurance division.
We advise on the full range of insurance and reinsurance matters
including capital and balance sheet management, start-ups,
corporate acquisitions and disposals, strategic investment
projects, product development, corporate reorganisation and
regulatory compliance.
The work we undertake is often cross-border, which is supported by
our strong international network of offices across Europe,
Australia, the US, Asia and the Middle East, allowing us to deliver
an integrated and high quality service on multi-jurisdictional
matters.
As many of our insurance industry clients offer a broad range of
financial products and services, we work closely with our other
financial services practices to cover product and service areas
such as superannuation, managed investments, wholesale and retail
banking and retail credit. Our private equity practice strength has
also provided significant benefits to those clients in both
insurance mergers and acquisitions and investment in start-ups.
We work extensively with government and the private sector to
develop, implement and audit insurance strategies and arrangements
for major projects and general corporate risks.
We ensure that our clients receive seamless, comprehensive and
commercial advisory services.
Insurance and reinsurance capabilities:
- Insurance regulation
- Cross-jurisdictional regulatory issues
- Solvency II
- Liaising with regulators on specific regulatory issues
- Obtaining new authorisations, registrations and licences
- Reorganisations
- Mergers and acquisitions and transfers of insurance business
- Structuring strategic industry relationships
- Distribution and agency agreements
- Commutations
- Aviation, marine and space insurance
- Insurance linked securities
- Policy wording development and interpretation
- Insurance special purpose vehicles
- Regulatory capital and balance sheet management
- Competition issues and investigations/proceedings
- Monitoring and enforcement visits by regulators
- Drafting compliance and risk management policies and procedures
- Conflicts of interest
- Advising on directors and officers liability insurance and
indemnities
- Assessing the adequacy of insurance programmes
- Conducting legal risk audits to identify legal risk profiles
- Captive insurance arrangements
- Assisting clients with broker tenders
- Drafting and negotiating contractual indemnity and insurance
provisions
- Assisting with the development, implementation and auditing of
insurance for major infrastructure projects, constructions,
acquisition, supply, maintenance and service contracts and for
general corporate risks including board risks
- Development of template insurance clauses and user manuals to
assist contract drafters
- Assisting with the lodgment of claims and insurer negotiations