Find Lawyers in Perth, Australia for Insurance Law
Practice Area Overview
Insurance is a wide practice area covering a range of insurance policies, industry sectors, and areas of legal expertise.
Specialist insurance lawyers typically act on behalf of insurers in the investigation and defence of claims made against parties who hold insurance policies, and/or in providing related coverage advice as to whether the relevant insurance policy (or policies, in the case of dual insurance) responds to those claims.
Where coverage advice is required, some insurers prefer to split the role of ‘defence’ and ‘coverage’ counsel, while others will engage lawyers to perform a dual role. In the event of a coverage dispute (and therefore a conflict of interests) between the insurer and insured, separate representation is required to ensure a timely identification of the relevant issues and resolution of the dispute.
The types of policy vary widely, including for example Professional Indemnity, Medical Malpractice, Directors’ and Officers’ Liability, Management Liability, Employment Practices Liability, Statutory Liability, Cyber Risks, Crime, General (Public and Product Liability), Aviation, various Broadform policies covering a range of risks, and various policies relevant to the construction industry, such as Contract Works.
Within each class of policy are a number of sub-specialities. For example, Professional Indemnity policies are issued to accountants, barristers, doctors, engineers, financial advisers, mortgage brokers, real estate agents solicitors, valuers, and many more.
With such a broad range of policies, lawyers advising in this area require a detailed understanding of the industries in which they practice and the relevant legislation, in addition to expertise in insurance law (for example, Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth)), contract law, tort (primarily negligence), and the Australian Consumer Law, and of legal practice and procedure in State and Federal jurisdictions.
Industry expertise will include a thorough knowledge of the relevant disciplines involved in the underlying conduct or transaction giving rise to the claim, to advise on the technical issues arising in the context of the applicable legal framework. This will ensure the ability to quickly identify the relevant issues and the most appropriate resolution strategy, whether by way of an early compromise, alternative dispute resolution or court proceedings and a trial.
The commercial discipline for any insurance lawyer is to be able to distil often complex technical and legal issues as quickly as possible, to enable the most appropriate resolution to be identified and achieved as cost effectively as possible for the benefit of all the interested stakeholders (insurers, insureds, and intermediaries).
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Mark is an insurance specialist with over 25 years’ experience gained in the UK and Australia. He joined Meridian Lawyers in January 2018, opening up the firms Perth office. He practices almost exclusively in insurance matters, in particular, in the areas of professional indemnity, public and products liability, medical negligence and property. His private practice experience has been augmented by senior in-house roles with both an insurer and reinsurer. This has given Mark a unique ind...
From our Perth office, Aimee specialises in liability matters and workplace disputes. As part of her liability practice, Aimee advises clients in personal injury, medical malpractice, property damage, aviation and construction disputes. As part of her workplace practice Aimee advises her clients on workplace health and safety, redundancies, unfair dismissals, general protections and Award disputes. Aimee has achieved successful settlements at various stages of proceedings and has experience i...
Stephanie has over 15 years' experience in representing employers, insurers and self-insured corporations in the management and defence of a range of claims including intentional torts, property damage, pure economic loss and statutory classes of insurance. She has the day-to-day conduct of many matters and appears in the Conciliation and Arbitration Services and the District and Supreme Courts of Western Australia. Stephanie is a strong proponent of early intervention and alternative dispute...
Shannon is highly regarded for her insurance litigation expertise, specifically in medical negligence, health law and professional indemnity claims. She has provided extensive advice to numerous Australasian and international insurers, brokers and underwriting agencies in defending claims and advising on wider insurance indemnity issues. Prior to moving to Perth in 2011, Shannon practised in New Zealand as a civil and criminal litigator with a focus on insurance litigation. Shannon acts for h...
Sarah is an experienced litigator and insurance lawyer. She advises insurers, corporations and professionals on a broad range of commercial disputes, with a particular focus on professional indemnity (PI) and directors' & officers' (D&O) matters. What she does Sarah advises insurers—and acts for their insured clients—on coverage issues for complex claims under PI, D&O and management liability policies, statutory compliance, investigations and defence of statutory prose...
Chris is an experienced insurance law practitioner with expertise in public and product liability, professional indemnity, workers' compensation and motor vehicle personal injury claims. What he does Chris provides advice on the management of public liability, professional indemnity, property, workers' compensation and motor vehicle personal injury claims. He regularly appears as counsel in the District Court, the Court of Appeal and the Conciliation and Arbitration Service.Chris acts for a n...
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