Insurance and Risk

Our Insurance & Risk practice offers comprehensive legal advice on complex insurance, litigation, and risk matters. Serving corporate Australia, government, and the insurance industry, we deliver a complete spectrum of services, encompassing both contentious and non-contentious expertise. Our approach covers all facets of insurance and reinsurance law and risk management, providing a holistic solution with national coverage.

The team is highly regarded nationally and internationally both by its peers and the insurance industry and our partners are considered to be amongst Australia's leading experts on insurance law. They are at the forefront of developments in the industry, meaning that we provide proactive, forward-thinking advice that deals not only with current risks but helps clients understand and manage emergent and topical risks, such as cyber threats, pandemics and climate change, where their existing insurance programs and the insurance market itself may be struggling or deficient.

Corporate Australia

Clients who have difficult insurance and liability risk issues look to us for practical solutions and we are the team of choice for many blue-chip corporations and leading financial institutions when faced with insurance and risk concerns. We understand the challenges and the complex legal environment confronting our corporate clients. We advise on:

• placement and policy response over a broad range of insurance covers
• risk management and due diligence advice
• policy interpretation and placement issues
• contractual issues
• complex claims litigation and dispute resolution
• cyber insurance purchase and claims disputes
• warranty and indemnity (W&I) insurance
• Directors' & Officers' (D&O) insurance issues
• efficacy reviews of insurance programs in all classes, including Cyber, D&O & Financial Lines

Insurance Industry

We undertake commercial work for the insurance industry (insurers and reinsurers) that includes:

• product development
• design and distribution obligations (DDO)
• unfair contract terms (UCT)
• breach reporting
• distribution including MGA agreements
• policy building and vetting
• contracts of insurance and reinsurance
• product disclosure statements
• solvent schemes of arrangement and portfolio transfers
• regulatory and compliance requirements

Government

We have worked closely with government agencies to advise them on:

• insurance and indemnity coverage
• contractual liability and risk allocation
• defence of liability litigation
• advice on statutory insurances
• insurance and reinsurance claims
• insurance law reform and policy implementation issues.

Recognition

Chambers Asia-Pacific: Insurance: Policyholder AND Insurance: Insurer: Non-contentious – Band 1 (2022)

• A client identifies several of the Clayton Utz team's strengths, particularly stressing the presence of partners who are "accessible, down-to-earth and experts in their field" and provide "advice that is practicable and implementable, not merely black-letter and technical."
• Another client, who calls Clayton Utz "a go-to firm who help us with pretty much anything we have," particularly appreciates "the availability of all the team," adding: "They make you feel as if you are the only client."

Asia Pacific Legal 500: Insurance – Tier 2 (2022)

• The experienced insurance group at Clayton Utz is known for being “one of the few practices in Sydney focusing on policyholders”, and is known for having “high-quality lawyers available to advise on the full range of insurance matters”.“Clayton Utz’s insurance team is excellent. They have a number of high-quality lawyers available to advise on the full range of insurance matters. Having worked with them for more than five years I have no hesitation in recommending them.”