Insurance and Liability

OUR CLIENTS

Our team advises and represents a wide array of Belgian and foreign insurance and reinsurance companies, brokers and agents, retail and commercial banks and other insurance intermediaries, as well as trade associations and insured persons.

Our clients include domestic entities as well as foreign insurers and loss adjusters who operate in Belgium under freedom of services. We are also regularly instructed by UK and US law firms to advise their clients in relation to Belgian insurance law matters.

We are proud to be able to count amongst our longstanding clients some of the best known insurers with a strong local presence. Our insurance practice has earned a particularly strong reputation for representing corporate clients.

OUR APPROACH

We look at insurance as an activity and as a sector. We have a client-orientated approach, which allows us to efficiently service the needs of the various players in the insurance market, e.g. Belgian or foreign life and/or non-life and speciality (niche) insurers, and brokers or other intermediaries as well as insured persons (unless we have a conflict of interest).

OUR TEAM

Our insurance team is truly multilingual; it advises in French, Dutch and English and has built a strong reputation over the years.

Our specialist insurance lawyers work closely together with sector specialists from other practice areas, such as regulatory, corporate, finance, tax, commercial contracts and competition law.

OUR SERVICES

Insurance lines in which we have particularly strong expertise include property insurance, product liability insurance, professional liability insurance, credit insurance, technical insurance (including construction all risks), fine art & valuables insurance, transport insurance, marine & aviation insurance, and environmental coverage. Our team has also developed a strong practice in the life and health insurance segments.
We advise and assist clients in matters including:

• Claims monitoring
• Handling of complex claims (e.g. fraud and embezzlement and professional liability claims)
• Drafting, updating and negotiating insurance policies and endorsements
• Dispute resolution, through negotiation, arbitration or litigation before the Belgian or EU courts.
• Agreements between insurers, brokers, banks and other players in the insurance products distribution market
• Validating remote selling process of insurance products
• Regulatory law applicable to insurers, reinsurers and insurance intermediaries
• Setting up underwriting agencies
• Captives and alternative risk transfer

On the corporate and regulatory side, we advise life and non-life insurers and re-insurers, service providers, brokers and other intermediaries on the application of Belgian and European regulations affecting the insurance market and we assist clients with entry to the Belgian market under the EEA ‘passport’ system. We also work in close collaboration with the Real Estate and Employment practice groups for business transfers and reorganisations and with the Tax group as regards the taxation of insurance companies and insurance products or operations.