Marine and non-marine Insurance Law

In most jurisdictions, as in Belgium, insurance is regulated by a general law on land insurance and specific laws on marine insurance, while others integrate the different types in one law.

The activity of insurer, reinsurer, (re) insurance broker, insurance intermediary, insurance agents, claims handlers are subject to obtaining a license of the regulatory body.  The regulatory framework for bank, finance and insurance activities aims i.a.to protect consumers from unqualified providers.  The regulatory bodies further play a role in case of transfer of insurance portfolio, merger and acquisition, or actions in insolvency and so on.  Within the EEA (European economic area) following the principle of freedom of location of services the license obtained in one member state will remain binding but certain formalities remain necessary.

In-house knowledge of the insurance sector, as is the case with A-Law, has the important advantage that the relationships between the different actors in the insurance industry are known and considered with utmost care to the benefit of A-Law principals.   A-LAW Attorneys advises insurance companies and insured, as well as intermediaries (brokers, agents, adjusters and so on) on coverage disputes, policy interpretation issues and so on and represents them in litigation, mediation and arbitration.  In case of coverage of legal aid, A-LAW fees and costs will be paid directly by the insurers. In principle, the freedom to appoint the attorney of its choice lies with the insured.

More specifically on insurance law matters, A-LAW has experience in domestic and cross border markets with:

• Guidance of undertakings residing in the European Economic Area as well as outside in obtaining the license to access the profession, the transfer of insurance portfolio, the acquisition of an existing undertaking active in the finance and insurance sector and so on. (see also area of support CORPORATE AND MANAGEMENT, run-off management of insurance portfolio)
• Claims instituted or provision of defense acting on behalf of the insured, third party, insurance agent or broker, insurers, claims settling and recovery agents and related to:
• accident insurance
• traffic violations insurance (see also traffic law)
• hospitalization and medical practitioners insurance
• cargo and hull insurance
• DSU (delay in start-up) insurance or advanced business interruption
• stock and transit insurance
• motor vehicle insurance
• property insurance
• life insurance
• credit insurance
• NVOCC liability insurance
• MTO (multimodal transport operator) and MTD (multimodal transport document) liability insurance
• product liability insurance
• professional liability insurance
• management insurance
• civil liability and exploitation risks insurance
• parental or family liability insurance
• all risk insurance
• cargo insurance
• theft, fire and natural disasters (flood, storm) insurance
• strike and riots insurance
• stowaways insurance
• Resolution and disputes under marine insurance policies as the Antwerp Marine Policy, Dutch Inland Hull Policy, Lloyd’s Policy, Institute Clauses, Hamburg insurance and so on.