Insurance Claims & Litigation: COVID-19 & Critical Updates
Examine the significant impacts of COVID-19 on insurance claims & litigation, including the effect on business interruptions, contractual issues, health-related claims, and new & novel claims against corporations, directors & Government. Get the latest updates on regulatory developments in insurance law. Examine how insurance claims against insurers are litigated. Get up to date on the latest insurance litigation cases, including evidence and fraud issues in insurance disputes.
Description
Attend and earn 4 CPD units in Substantive Law
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
Chair: Ben Hall, Partner, Carter Newell
9.00am to 9.05am: Opening Comments from the Chair
9.05am to 9.55am: The Implications of COVID-19 for Insurance Claims & Litigation: Navigating the Risks Right Now
COVID-19 has had a significant impact on insurance litigation. The many business, contractual, and health issues stemming from the pandemic have triggered a multitude of challenging insurance issues. Businesses have been interrupted, contracts have been breached, and new and novel claims are on the horizon. Delve into each of these key areas to get up to date on how to practically deal with each one of these issues right now and into the future.
- The post-COVID19 landscape: primary and secondary impacts
- The implications of COVID-19 on various areas of insurance and the resulting claims
- Managing the risks and insurance implications of COVID-19: Where to from here?
Presented by Jacques Jacobs, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright Australia
9.55am to 10.25am: Critical Update: Claims, Investigations and Regulatory Developments
- The regulatory landscape: What has changed and what changes are still to come?
- Impact of claims handling as a financial service: What does this mean for the general insurance market?
Presented by Sophie Devitt, Partner, DLA Piper
10.25am to 11.15am: Protecting an Insurance Asset & Navigating Litigation Against Insurers
For the vast majority of claims, the policyholder can lodge a claim and, after a loss assessment process, that claim is paid. Challenges arise, however, if the claim is unusual and there are questions regarding whether the policy responds. The focus of the presentation is on what to do in these unusual claim scenarios.
- Steps to take when you have a claim
- The importance of getting the claim running in the right way from the beginning
- Putting in place processes to protect confidential and privileged information
- How to manage a large and complex claim
- When to consider and how to enlist the support of litigation funding
- Recent procedural developments in litigation against insurers, including changes to the timeframe to bring proceedings
Presented by James Bruun, Senior Associate, HFW Australia
11.15am to 11.25am: Break
11.25am to 12.15pm: Insurance Litigation, Evidence, and Fraud
- Appellate review of evidence in insurance cases where fraud is alleged: Lee v Lee
- Role of Appellate Courts
- Real Review of Evidence
- Credibility and Restraint
- Conclusions
Presented by Dr Tim Channon, Special Counsel, Wotton + Kearney
12.15pm to 1.00pm: Insurance Litigation Case Update
Examine several of the most significant recent insurance cases, with in-depth analysis of the facts and issues of each case, the key takeaways, and the ramifications for your organisation or practice.
Presented by Sarah Danne, Barrister, Alinea Chambers
1.00pm to 1.10pm: Final Q&A and Closing Comments
Presenters
Ben Hall
Ben leads the firm’s Melbourne office. With over 20 years’ experience as a litigation and insurance lawyer, and as an accredited specialist in commercial litigation, Ben brings a wealth of knowledge to the Carter Newell team. His extensive insurance experience includes the areas of professional indemnity, directors’ and officers’ liability, management liability, medical malpractice, public and product liability, disciplinary complaints and hearings, Coronial Inquests, the defence of recovery claims by statutory insurers, as well as insurance fraud. Ben regularly provides coverage advice and acts as coverage counsel in relation to a range of insurance products.
Jacques Jacobs
Jacques Jacobs is a litigation and insurance lawyer based in Sydney. Jacques advises local and overseas insurers on complex disputes and coverage issues. He focuses on financial lines with a particular focus on Directors & Officers, Professional Indemnity, Management Liability, Cyber and Warranty & Indemnity claims. Jacques co-leads the cyber-insurance practice in Australia and specialises in Cyber Breach Response. Jacques acts as defence counsel for company directors and financial professionals, such as accountants, auditors, stockbrokers and financial planners. His experience ranges from managing large multi-party litigation to regulatory and disciplinary hearings.
Sophie Devitt
Sophie Devitt is a litigation and regulatory lawyer in the insurance sector. She provides regulatory advice to participants in the financial services industry relating to compliance and risk management issues particularly for general insurers, intermediaries and insurance brokers. She also provides general commercial advice for participants in the sector. Her litigation practice has a particular focus of professional indemnity disputes. Sophie has many years of experience advising those involved in the insurance industry including insurers, intermediaries, brokers and broker associations on issues involving indemnity and policy interpretation. She has also defended a range of professionals in the financial services industry and the property industry and their professional indemnity insurers including insurance brokers, finance brokers, engineers, architects, surveyors and real estate agents.
James Bruun
James has 20 years' experience specialising in insurance related litigation and dispute resolution. He has experience in high-value and complex insurance and reinsurance matters involving professional indemnity, public and product liability, class actions and contractual disputes. He also has expertise in defence litigation and subrogated recovery claims arising from catastrophic incidents in Australia. James has acted for a range of local and international insurers in the construction, mining, transport and marine, and logistics industries in a wide range of contentious matters. In addition, James has specific expertise advising insurers and insureds on policy interpretation and coverage issues.
Tim Channon
Since 1990, Tim has specialised in litigating numerous insurance and general commercial disputes, including property damage and product liability, indemnity and recovery matters, arson and fraud. Tim has also advised insurers on a wide range of issues, including claims relating to cheque fraud and mortgage insurance across the entire sector from the construction, manufacturing and mining industries to the small business sector and householders. He has drafted household, motor vehicle, medical indemnity and lenders mortgage insurance policies for several insurers and acted in many complex commercial disputes, such as contractual, building and trade practices disputes. An accredited specialist in commercial litigation (insurance), Tim has vast experience in resolving insurance disputes, including significant property damage claims, product liability claims (including the pharmaceutical, manufacturing and industrial sectors), life insurance claims (particularly addressing related indemnity issues), building and engineering disputes, indemnity disputes (including assessing full and partial indemnity for insurers and insured) and recoveries.
Sarah Danne
Sarah has a broad commercial practice at the NSW Bar, reaching from general corporate matters to superannuation, other regulatory and financial markets, property as well as some public law work. She brings a high level of commerciality and legal experience to the work in which she engages. Prior to coming to the Bar, Sarah was an Associate Director at Macquarie Bank in Sydney where she gained invaluable experience relating to the financial services industry and general corporate matters. Before that, she spent eight years as a lawyer in private practice with Allens, in the Melbourne and Singapore offices. Across those roles, Sarah accumulated extensive experience in banking and finance, regulatory, mining and resources and renewables.