Insurance Litigation

Contacts

Name: Professor Dr. Ioannis K. Rokas

E-mail: i.rokas@rokas.com

Name: Nick Boutsikos, LL.M.

E-mail: n.boutsikos@rokas.com

Rokas Law Firm has a fully-staffed insurance litigation team of experts counting today 15 lawyers and associates in the Athens office. The firm, since its establishment in 1977, has gained experience in insurance litigation. Ιn particular, it has dealt with numerous insurance claims and disputes on coverage issues including disputes arising out of insurance contract terms & conditions of life and non life insurance, recovery in ship, air, railway, road transport, MTPL cases as well as numerous disputes concerning matters related to State Supervision. The firm has been involved in the largest and most complex insurance dispute resolution cases of the last 40 years in Greece, with an impressive success record achieved through litigation or local / international arbitration or out-of-court settlement. These include commercial claims to consumer protection agencies that filed collective legal proceedings against Greek insurance enterprises, affecting insurers’ interests to a value of more than € 400 mio as well as our latest settlement which involved a € 100 mio indemnity.

Our clientele includes all major international (re)insurance conglomerates and local insurance undertakings with an interest in the Greek market as well as numerous with an interest in other countries, including the representation of the Motor Insurance Bureaux of four EU countries in a set of sophisticated international arbitration proceedings.

Further, we assist inscos in tax matters related to the insurance business and in the relevant litigation. We represent both primary insurers and London-market reinsurers in relation to a number of claims arising from the compulsory professional liability insurance policies for brokers. Rokas Law Firm shares its in-depth experience in insurance litigation with other European countries where we are present. We represent clients in relation to complaints arising from insurance policies in the health sector vis a vis the consumer Ombudsman as well as in an increasing number of related litigations. Complicated matters arising from motor traffic including private international law issues are also part of our insurance litigation portfolio. In addition, we have handled fatal cases, mancut and nutcut disaster involving insurance coverage such as oil pollution of the sea and soil, earthquakes, industrial damages and business interruption, p/v and a large number of D&O cases.

Recent matters

  • Brexit and the realm of regulated and admitted services (insurance, insurance distribution, insurance based investment services).
  • Education: developing an on-line educational tool for the 2,500 employees of systemic bank engaged in bancassurance.
  • Advising market players on compliance with the major regulatory changes (Solvency II, IDD, PRIIPs, MiFID II, GDPR).
  • Corporate governance, ESG and the interplay with the specific governance requirements of the insurance regulatory framework.
  • Advising third country reinsurers on the reciprocity and risk transfer level when supporting local carriers.
  • Advising on corporate transformations of international carrier on the cross-border absorption of a Greek subsidiary and the transformation of its local presence into a branch. Also, on the transformation of the local branch of a US insurer to a subsidiary, both via tax neutral transactions.
  • Supporting insurers and intermediaries in Regulator’s  and Consumer Protection Authority investigations.
  • Transfer of qualified shareholdings and regulatory approvals required.
  • Tailoring innovative insurance & insurance based investments products to local market and compliance needs.
  • Financial Innovation hub in Greece.

The Legal 500 – The Clients Guide to Law Firms