Dean Carrigan

Practice Areas

Dean acts for vendors and purchasers in acquisitions and mergers of insurance companies in the region, and in respect of court approved business transfer schemes. He also provides regulatory and compliance advice to insurers/intermediaries and has acted for regulated entities in a number of regulatory investigations. He has extensive experience of dealing with regulators such as APRA, ASIC and the ACCC in relation to insurance sector companies wishing to conduct business in Australia and has particular expertise in the interface between the industry and regulators.

He has been involved in a number of significant, complex and reputationally critical insurance and reinsurance disputes including in respect of engineering, construction and valuer professional indemnity claims; industrial special risks coverage disputes; trade credit and political risk claims; and warranty and indemnity claims.

Experience

• Mergers and acquisitions – Extensive experience acting for sellers and buyers in domestic and cross-border insurance sector transactions involving life, non-life, reinsurance, specialist monoline and intermediary businesses

• Portfolio transfers – Acting on a significant number of intra-group and arms-length Federal Court of Australia approved portfolio transfers for transferors or transferees

• Incorporation and establishment – Advising new market entrants on the establishment, authorisation and development of insurance businesses

• Distribution and bancassurance – Advising on a number of insurance manufacturing, distribution and bancassurance arrangements

• Regulatory/Investigations – Providing extensive advice on Australian insurance regulatory and compliance issues including assisting in responses to various regulatory issues and acting in the Banking Royal Commission

• Policy drafting – Advising financial sector institutions on the drafting of bespoke liability and bankers' blanket bond (plus D&O) coverage programme

• Policy drafting – Drafting and negotiating insurance liability and property policies on behalf of major corporations

• Transaction liability/W&I claims – Advising and acting for insurers on the defence of a number of Australian coverage claims under transaction liability policies

• Negligence claims – Acting for insurers and insureds in the defence of proceedings regarding negligence allegations

• Political risk/trade credit – Assisting insureds and insurers on a range of disputes under political risk and trade credit policies

• Property/BI claims – Advising insurers on COVID BI claims