Find Lawyers in Sydney, Australia for Insurance Law
Insurance Law - Sydney, Australia
About this Practice Area
A founder of Meridian Lawyers and Managing Principal, Paul’s reputation as a leading insurance and health lawyer has been realised through his involvement in a number of high profile cases – in particular the generic substitution litigation in the early 1990s, the 1995 Fairfax litigation, a number of high profile sports litigation matters. He has acted as the principal legal adviser to Guild Insurance Limited since the 1980s, dealing with professional indemnity claims, defamation,...
With more than 25 years’ experience as an insurance and health lawyer, Nevena brings a common sense confidence to her work. Her liability claims experience is enhanced from her having worked as a senior solicitor at NZI/CGU Insurance Ltd for five years. Throughout her career, Nevena has advised GIO General Ltd, Vero Insurance, NZI/CGU Insurance Ltd, QBE Europe and other major insurers such as Mercantile Mutual Insurance (Australia) Ltd (now QBE Insurance Group Ltd). Her experience with ...
About Malcolm Malcolm has particular experience in class actions, supplemented by specialist expertise in insurance, including providing coverage advice to insurers as well as acting to defend their insureds. He has an outstanding track record of achieving positive outcomes for clients by resolving their disputes in a timely and cost-effective fashion without litigation where possible, and by litigating to successful conclusions where necessary. His clients expect and receive proactive and ea...
About John John is a senior partner in our Insurance Group and a former Chairman of the firm. He runs a full-time practice that focuses on professional indemnity, directors' and officers' (D&O) liability, commercial litigation and aviation litigation. What he does John advises a wide range of professional people across the construction and financial planning industries and company directors, officers and other lawyers in defence of legal negligence claims.He is mostly retained by large Au...
Robert practises in insurance law and litigation, with a focus on professional indemnity and product liability insurance. He joined Meridian Lawyers in November 2014, bringing a wealth of experience in insurance law, having acted in many high profile insurance cases. He acts for overseas underwriters, particularly Lloyd’s Syndicates and others in the London insurance market. He also advises insurers, brokers, underwriting agents and insured parties and provides risk management advice to...
Matthew is not only a leading insurance lawyer but is highly regarded in developing key client relationships and key client teams to create long standing partnerships. Matthew is the co-lead of the Firm’s award winning National Financial Services + Insurance Industry Group. Matthew enjoys a strong industry presence including with key industry associations such as ANZIIF and FSC, and also Government where he has held a number of key advisory positions. Matthew’s experience in manag...
About Mark Mark specialises in professional indemnity and directors' and officers' claims and has been involved in some of Australia's most notable PI and D&O claims. He also has an interest in clinical negligence claims, reinsurance disputes and cyber issues. Mark is the current chairman and a director of Lloyd's Australia Limited. What he does Mark advises insurers and insureds on professional indemnity matters, directors' and officers' (D&O) claims and cyber risk. He conducts medic...
Stanley Drummond is Adjunct Head of Superannuation & Wealth Management at Thomson Geer. He specialises in superannuation, life and general insurance, managed funds, financial planning and financial services regulation. His expertise in these areas is founded on previous roles as in-house counsel at St. George Bank, Vero Insurance, ING Australia and GE Money. Stanley is a prolific author on superannuation, insurance and other financial services topics, with articles frequently appearing in...
Philip is an experienced corporate insurance and financial services lawyer. Philip helps clients do business by advising them on commercial solutions to insurance issues that are effective, clear and easy to understand. He acts for a range of clients including general and life insurers, reinsurers, insurance intermediaries and financial institutions as well as general corporate and government clients. Prior to joining Hall & Wilcox, Philip gained experience in top tier private practice in...
About Ian Ian specialises in major and catastrophic motor vehicle insurance claims for major insurers. He advises on all aspects of motor vehicle disputes, including major/catastrophic claims, indemnity disputes, fraud and actions against third parties, including recovery actions between insurers. What he does Ian's main area of practice is representing and advising motor vehicle insurers in complex claim disputes. He has expertise in the assessment of damages and identifying strategies early...
About Lindsay Lindsay is a market leading practitioner and legal literary author, with more than 40 years' industry experience. He specialises in professional indemnity with a focus on valuers, construction and property.Lindsay has practised in the London market since 1983, becoming one of the most high profile Australian lawyers to practise in this market. He has co-authored the second edition of Valuers' Liability and was the principal author of the Risk Management Module produced for the A...
Nathan is an experienced insurance litigator with more than 20 years' experience advising insurers on workers' compensation, CTP and liability claims. Currently, Nathan advises clients on CTP litigation with particular experience in major claims and catastrophic injury, including the application of the Lifetime Care and Support Scheme; administrative law; public liability litigation; recovery under s151Z of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW); recovery under the Safety, Rehabilitation and...
Neroli has more than 30 years' legal experience and specialises in all aspects of general insurance law, including public and product liability, property damage, indemnity and contractual issues. She has extensive experience in indemnity disputes, policy interpretation, contract claims, and catastrophic injury claims. Neroli also has extensive experience acting for medical practitioners in medical negligence claims by patients and their families. Claims include personal injury, nervous shock ...
About Julian Julian, who is named on the Best Lawyers in Australia list, has more than 26 years' experience in insurance law and expertise in casualty, liability, construction risk and products liability.Julian is also recommended as a Leading Professional Indemnity Lawyer in NSW in the 2017 Doyle's Guide. What he does Julian provides advice on large and complex building and engineering claims, claims against individuals in the corrective and detention services industries, as well as products...
About Belinda Belinda is an experienced litigator with an extensive background defending claims arising out of personal injury and fatalities, property damage, contractual liabilities and intentional torts for governments, insurers and self-insureds. She sits on Sparke Helmore's Board and also on the firm’s Diversity Committee. What she does Belinda acts in a range of public liability and property damage claims. She acts in general liability claims for catastrophic and/or fatal injuries...
About Deborah Deborah has been fascinated by financial liability insurance products since she joined LawCover in 1996. After working in-house, Deborah now acts for professional indemnity and directors' and officers' (D&O) insurers in coverage and monitoring roles and as defence counsel when indemnity is not in issue. What she does Deborah typically advises on complex financial loss claims. She has experience in representing a wide variety of professionals, from real estate agents and valu...
Michael brings more than 18 years of experience across all areas of insurance law, with a primary focus on professional indemnity, general liability and accident & health. Michael has acted and advised Local Government Authorities and national and international insurers and self-insureds on numerous un-litigated and litigated claims. These range from small claims in NCAT and the Local Court to large scale, complex and multi-partied litigation in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, Federal...
Andrew is an insurance law specialist with 25 years’ experience acting for major Australian and international insurers. He provides advice on a range of issues including strategy, policy drafting, coverage and regulatory disputes, and claims advice. Andrew is also an experienced litigator of financial lines claims with particular expertise in management liability and professional claims against financial (accountants, financial planners, stockbrokers), insurance (brokers and agents) and...
Rhett is Hall & Wilcox's National Insurance Practice Head and is responsible for the driving and coordinating the strategy for the firm’s national insurance practice, comprising 35 partners and over 150 insurance lawyers across Australia. Rhett has over 25 years’ experience acting for the major insurers, claims administrators, self-insurers, government agencies and statutory schemes. He also has longstanding relationships with the broking community, industry peak bodies and ot...
Joanna is an experienced insurance lawyer, specialising in statutory classes of insurance. Joanna has extensive experience advising and representing employers, self-insurers, NSW workers compensation managed fund scheme agents, treasury managed fund agents and the Workers Compensation Nominal Insurer (icare).Joanna’s practice incorporates statutory and common law claims and judicial review matters. She manages matters involving both physical and psychological injuries, litigated matters...
John has over 20 years’ experience as a litigator specialising in all areas of insurance and has managed a significant number of large litigated matters. John is an Accredited Specialist in Commercial Litigation (Insurance) and leads our insurance team. He has acted in matters in all States of Australia. John is an experienced advocate, regularly appearing for clients in court and participates in alternative dispute resolution programs in those matters identified as unsuitable for litig...
Ahranee advises insurers in the defence of public and product liability claims (personal injury and property damage), disability claims and policy response. Ahranee has extensive experience defending personal injury claims for a diverse range of businesses, including hoteliers/clubs, security guards, building contractors, recreational facilities, sporting clubs, property owners, managing agents and commercial cleaners. Ahranee also acts for underwriters of accident and health policies, with a...
Doug joined Turks as Special Counsel in the Employers Liability group having spent over 35 years specialising in workers compensation, personal injury and general insurance litigation in the Supreme Court, District Court and Dust Diseases Tribunal. As a Partner for over 25 years with a leading law firm, Doug has an expert knowledge of the principles of workers compensation (claims, insurance, regulatory), common law, civil liability, dust diseases, insurance and motor accidents, consumer law,...
About Chanel Chanel is an experienced litigator in our Commercial Insurance team with a diverse portfolio of insurance related liability disputes and experience across a range of areas of law. Communication and collaboration is the key to Chanel's success in delivering superior service and outcomes for her clients. Chanel is often praised for going above and beyond in her handling of matters, and her professionalism, efficiency and teamwork. What she does Chanel has particular experience acti...
Areas of Expertise Steph has been a member of Holman Webb’s Insurance team since 2016. Steph manages a varied practice which includes public liability, products liability, policy interpretation and professional indemnity matters. Steph provides clear and pragmatic advice to clients on the relevant issues and potential solutions to each claim. She also works with and assists other members of the team in a variety of litigated and non-litigated personal injury, property damage and profess...
About Frank Frank is an insurance lawyer and has eight years’ experience in CTP, dealing with fraud matters, dual insurance, recovery issues and indemnity disputes. What he does Frank specialises in insurance litigation with a focus on personal injury claims arising from motor vehicle accidents. He acts for national insurers across multiple jurisdictions such as the District Court, the Supreme Court and the Personal Injury Commission. Frank has demonstrated experience in managing catast...
About Angel Angel is an experienced lawyer who specialises in administrative law and Commonwealth statutory classes of insurance. She advises clients on a range of issues and regularly represents them in litigated proceedings in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the Federal Court of Australia. What she does Angel provides strategic advice on issues involving statutory interpretation, litigation, regulatory frameworks and administrative law. She is skilled at both formal and informal alt...
About Peter Peter is an experienced insurance law practitioner, having worked in plaintiff, defendant and in-house roles. He approaches all matters with particular focus on strategic elements of claims management, and on his client’s commercial drivers. Peter has undertaken pro bono work with a number of Community Legal Centres. What he does Peter acts for insurers defending personal injury claims. He has a particular interest and expertise in advising on matters involving complex liabi...
About Sebastian Sebastian’s entire legal career has been devoted to acting for insurers in personal injury claims. He now practices predominantly in NSW CTP litigation and frequently appears in the Personal Injury Commission. He also represents insurers and their insureds in proceedings before the Local, District, and Supreme Court of NSW, the NSW Court of Appeal, and the High Court. What he does Sebastian’s practice focuses on major and catastrophic claims involving seriously inj...
About Kinga Kinga is an experienced insurance lawyer working in our Commercial Insurance team, specialising in CTP. She approaches litigation from a commercial perspective and strives to deliver exceptional value to our clients. What she does Throughout her career, Kinga has specialised in insurance litigation with a focus on personal injury claims arising from motor vehicle accidents. Kinga has particular expertise in managing catastrophic claims, and matters involving complex medical causat...
About Melanie Melanie is an insurance litigator with experience spanning various fields of insurance law, including public liability, product liability and professional indemnity claims. Melanie also works in the not-for-profit sector, assisting charitable and religious organisations responding to child abuse claims. What she does Melanie advises clients from a range of sectors, including schools, churches, hospitals, health and allied health professionals, construction companies, hospitality...
About Ebony Ebony is an experienced insurance litigator with expertise in public liability and dust diseases litigation. She has experience representing clients in most Australian jurisdictions. What she does Ebony acts for clients in claims involving dust diseases and advises on matters that often involve complex medical and legal issues. She also assists clients with claims for contribution and the defence of public liability matters. Ebony regularly appears on behalf of clients in the Dist...
About Lachlan Lachlan is an insurance lawyer specialising in liability litigation. His experience extends to public and product liability, property and construction third party claims, intentional torts and recoveries. What he does Lachlan acts in a variety of public and product liability matters. He acts in multi-party personal injury and property damage third party claims in the retail, hospitality, construction, government and infrastructure sectors. He has also acted in intentional tort c...
Insurance Law Definition
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).
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.
In Brief
Georgia Laws Taking Effect in 2022
Three new pieces of Georgia legislation aim to improve medical bill transparency, lower the sales tax on vehicles and enact further safeguards to protect children in foster care.
On Neutral Ground
Years after the American Bar Association resolution on diversifying the pool of neutrals, alternative dispute resolution panels still fall short.
Largest Pain and Suffering Award Affirmed in New York History
Preeminent trial lawyer Benedict Morelli on achieving a precedent shifting result.
New England States With Incoming Legislation
Best Lawyers takes an in depth look at newly proposed bills, litigation and cases coming out of four New England states.
Loaded Arguments
The historic Sandy Hook settlement may set precedent for future liability, while some states loosen their gun laws.
Activism In Action
From action to “Action!,” Jeffery Robinson’s Who We Are project and new documentary chronicle his efforts to expose, confront and put a stop to the country’s long history of anti-Black racism.
