Liability & insurance

Our attorneys have unique and broad expertise in the field of pre-contractual, contractual and tort liability in many industries (banking, insurance, technology, energy, retail, food, packaging, construction, real estate, distribution, chemicals, leisure, electronic platforms, transport, postal, telecommunication, etc.) and for professionals in the medical, legal and financial fields. We advise local and foreign clients, draft expert opinions, assist clients in negotiations and mediation and represent them throughout court and arbitration proceedings, addressing all related issues including international jurisdiction and conflict of laws. We also closely monitor developments on class actions.

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Your contacts in Liability & insurance

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Our insurance advice practice serves policy holders as well as insurance companies and insurance brokers. We assist our clients in a wide range of insurance matters such as credit insurance, transport insurance, professional liability insurance, third party liability insurance and product liability insurance. Our attorneys offer interdisciplinary services including assistance with regulatory issues (corporate governance issues, Solvency II, portfolio transfer, insurance protection schemes, cross-border mergers, etc.), product-related advice, drafting and reviewing of policies, (re)insurance contract negotiation and other (cross-border) (re)insurance services, insurance mediation in Belgium (e.g. European passport or licensing requirements, compliance and “general good” provisions, conflict of laws), information duties and the settlement of insurance coverage issues and related disputes. We also assist clients (insurers or policyholders) in relation to healthcare, life, non-life and investment-linked life insurance products and reinsurance.

Clients benefiting from our services include:

  • Credit institutions, brokers/dealers, portfolio managers and other financial intermediaries
  • Insurers, reinsurers and insurance brokers or agents
  • Manufacturers and distributors (for defective or unsafe products, including the impact of REACH)
  • Service providers, such as technology providers
  • Federations
  • Construction professionals
  • Public authorities and their officials
  • Universities and hospitals
  • Company directors and officers
  • Sellers and purchasers of shares (for breaches of representations and warranties)
  • Medical and legal practitioners
  • Auditors and accountants
  • Patent agents
  • Customers
  • Authors, publishers and broadcasters

Some of our references

Liability and insurance cases

  • Representing an aviation components company in a high-profile ICC arbitration case.
  • Assistance in various contractual disputes relating to the impact of COVID-19.
  • Representing a player in the food chain with regard to liability in the fipronil crisis, including insurance coverage matters.
  • Representing a chemical company in an arbitration case with regard to an EPCM contract.
  • Representing an energy supplier in a dispute with a distribution system operator.
  • Representing several professionals in connection with alleged liability in the performance of their services.
  • Representing a company in connection with its economic loss due to a factory explosion.
  • Representing an insurance company in connection with losses due to the collapse of cranes.
  • Determining the temporal and material scope of coverage of a liability insurance policy and a D&O policy.

Regulatory and contractual

  • Assisting a Belgian insurance company in relation to governance issues and in the winding up of the resulting entity after transfer of all the insurance activity.
  • Assisting a pension fund in renegotiating an investment-linked life insurance policy. Assisting an insurance company in the transfer of an insurance portfolio.
  • Assisting an insurance company in a cross-border (European) merger of insurance companies.
  • Advising industrial groups and professional associations on the qualification as insurance of product or service-related guarantees.
  • Advising UK service providers on the effect of Brexit on the offering of insurance products in Belgium.
  • Assisting the controlling shareholder of a Belgian insurer in the process of restructuring the insurer.
  • Advising a start-up on the development of a collaborative insurance model.
  • Assisting a Belgian insurer in the splitting of a life insurance investment fund to segregate two classes of policyholders.
  • Assisting a Belgian insurer regarding investment-linked policies in relation to negative interest rates.
  • Assisting a Belgian insurer regarding issues concerning “capital replenishment mortgage credits” linked with a life insurance contract.