Practices

Insurance and Reinsurance

Our expertise:

Our cross practice Insurance sector team is attuned to all regulatory changes happening in this environment and is ready to navigate our clients through these challenges. We have particular expertise in handling bespoke, complex, multi-layered insurance and reinsurance transactions and structures, and our clients include some of the world’s largest and most sophisticated insurance groups.

The group, which encompasses expertise from three of our industry leading departments, Corporate, Finance and Litigation is widely recognised in the market place for the depth and breadth of its expertise, assisting some of the significant insurance undertakings in Ireland and worldwide on a range of matters and projects.

Key areas:

We advise on: 

• The establishment, regulation and supervision of life and non-life (re)insurance operations in Ireland, including (re)insurers passporting into Ireland or into other EU member states from Ireland
• The regulatory and corporate aspects of complex multijurisdictional and domestic corporate mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, restructurings and disposals, including acting as lead counsel for cross-border insurance business restructurings
• All aspects of compliance obligations, including the implementation and application of Solvency II, product offerings and consumer requirements
• Corporate governance and fitness and probity issues
• Insurance products distribution arrangements, including advising insurance undertakings and intermediaries on setting terms regarding their respective obligations
• Portfolio transfers both to and from third parties and intra-group (including obtaining all necessary regulatory and judicial approvals)
• Rights issues, securitisations, demutualisation of insurers and complex capital markets transactions, as well as structured finance transactions involving (re)insurance products
• High-value, complex and high-profile (re)insurance disputes, including resolving (re)insurance policy wording disputes and policy avoidance issues
• Insurance-related issues arising from investigations by the Central Bank of Ireland
• The winding up and administration of insurers
• All aspects of insurance litigation and arbitration
• Property and professional indemnity insurance

Key highlights include advising:

• Allianz - Irish Life Holdings plc (“AILH”) on the recommended acquisition for cash by Allianz Europe B.V. (“Allianz Europe”) of the shares in AILH not already owned by the Allianz Group
• As lead counsel on the integration of the MetLife Group’s European insurance business into a single Irish hub acting in a sequence of cross-border mergers (involving authorised operating subsidiaries in Italy, France, the Czech Republic; Slovakia; Hungary and Romania and a holding subsidiary in Cyprus)
• Swiss Re on Irish legal and regulatory issues as well as the court processes associated with Swiss Re’s acquisition of a book of business from Access
• VHI on its acquisition (subject to competition clearance) of 100% control of the Swiftcare business (walk in minor injuries clinics)
• Zurich with ongoing regulatory counsel around a variety of issues including distribution arrangements and compliance programmes