Insurance

Expertise

Our team helps corporates and individuals understand, structure and place insurance cover and manage both contentious and non-contentious interactions with their insurers. We provide technical and strategic advice and support through the claims process and represent clients in arbitrations, mediations and the Courts to achieve their goals.

We also help insurance firms navigate local regulation and compliance, participate in law reform, and manage structural and governance issues.

Our expert lawyers understand the key commercial and regulatory drivers which shape the insurance industry, the often complex and confusing jargon which surrounds insurance, and the detail of insurance products and terms. We clarify issues and find solutions.

Our team, led by partner Nathaniel Walker and special counsel Sarah McQueen co-authoured the New Zealand chapter of the Legal 500: Insurance & Reinsurance Comparative Guide, a Q&A-style chapter that provides an overview of Insurance & Reinsurance laws and regulations applicable in New Zealand.

Experience

Our experience includes:

• Providing specialist advice on insurance placements for major projects and transactions, including liability cover for IPOs, warranty and indemnity insurance in the context of mergers and acquisitions, and cover for major construction projects.
• Advising companies and their boards on D&O insurance issues and placement, and the interaction between insurance and indemnities.
• Acting for insurers on contentious insurance claims under a wide range of policies, including professional indemnity, product liability and material damage / business interruption. This work has included multimillion dollar claims flowing from the Christchurch and Kaikoura earthquakes.
• Acting on numerous insurance disputes of public importance in relation to the Earthquake Commission's obligations arising from the Canterbury Earthquake Sequence of 2010/11.
• Advising insurance companies and liaising with the Reserve Bank of New Zealand on regulatory issues under the Insurance Prudential Supervision Act 2010.
• Advising insurers and insurance intermediaries on regulatory compliance and law reform, and assisting on the negotiation of distribution contracts. 
• Advising a major bank on the sale of its New Zealand life insurance business.
• Advising a global multinational and the third largest insurance broker in the world on its New Zealand clearance application in relation to the global acquisition by Aon.
• Acting for various industry participants in commercial disputes, including commissions disputes and confidentiality claims.