The Legal 500 > Europe, Middle East & Africa > France > Insurance

Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I. assists with contentious and non-contentious matters, especially in the finance and insurance and reinsurance sectors. Richard Ghueldre heads the practice, with Capucine Bernier as the other main practitioner. In recent work, the duo defended CNP Assurances subsidiary Filassistance International in several headline-grabbing civil litigation and criminal proceedings regarding Humania Consultants, its partners and clients. In a stand-out matter, Eurazeo instructed the practice to assist with the insurance aspects of its acquisition of Albingia; the team jointly worked with corporate expert Olivier Diaz. It also defended Axa in France's first finance and reinsurance class action, which further underlines the practice's excellent reputation. Clients also include AIG, Allianz and EDF. Of counsel Jonathan Rubinstein joined from DLA Piper.

HFW is primarily active in the manufacturing, transport, construction, trade and energy sectors. The practice's wide-ranging portfolio of expertise spans industrial risks, product liability, professional liability and public liability. A recent cross-border highlight on the contentious side saw Pauline Arroyo defend XL Insurance and its insured, a manufacturer of specialised electrical components, against a claim brought forward against the insured's Japanese subsidiary regarding a gasket manufactured by the insured's Chinese subsidiary. Olivier Purcell heads the practice, which also counts Chubb, Helvetia and Generali among its clients.

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP fields 'a strong and well-recognised insurance and reinsurance team' that attracts praise for its 'capacity to build a trustful relationship with clients, the high availability to answer within a short time frame, thorough but pragmatic analysis and ability to find alternative solutions'. The group assists with contentious and non-contentious matters alike, with recent highlights including the instruction from AXA Global Life to advise on the structuring and implementation of the merger with AXA Global P&C as well as the transfer of its reinsurance portfolio, a cross-border mandate involving ten jurisdictions. Another stand-out instruction was the representation of AXA and several of its international affiliates regarding the offering of a first-of-its kind ridesharing insurance product in the context of a partnership with BlaBlaCar. Other work came from CNP Assurances, Tikehau Capital and Global Aerospace. 'Highly reliable' practice head Sébastien Gros 'has a deep understanding of complex structures and techniques'. Litigator Thomas Rouhette left to set up Signature Litigation AARPI.

Squire Patton Boggs concentrates on insurance and reinsurance litigation. Coverage litigation and professional indemnity litigation are core areas for the team, headed by Carole Sportes and Valérie Ravit. The recent caseload shows a diverse practice covering a variety of sectors, including matters from the energy, automotive, construction, shipping and pharmaceutical sectors.

August Debouzy's team includes 'young, dedicated professionals who work with a strong commitment and in close co-operation with the partner in charge'. Mass litigation suits and cases involving high risk are the group's mainstay, often requiring the co-operation with other departments. The team fields a strong domestic practice, however, cross-border matters account for a significant portion of the caseload. Practice head Alexandra Cohen-Jonathan 'has huge knowledge of insurance matters and a very good relationship with insurance-sector participants'. In addition to representing Chubb as Prologis' insurer in litigation arising from an accident on one of the insured's sites which caused one fatality and two casualties, Cohen-Jonathan also defended Chubb as insurer of garden centre Novajardin in litigation arising from the birth of a child with deformities allegedly caused by a weed killer. Korian, Allianz Global Corporate & Speciality and Marsh count among the team's clients. Former French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve joined the team alongside senior counsel Pierre Sellal, formerly France's permanent representative at the EU.

DLA Piper is 'a multinational practice with capabilities to handle multiple and competing coverage disputes in multiple jurisdictions'. Active in litigation and advisory work, the recent caseload shows a predominance of cross-border highlight matters interspersed with strong domestic stand-out instructions. With Vonnick Le Guillou and Fabrice Armand at the helm and Bruce Mee as another key contact, the practice has a deep bench, which continues to grow at junior level. In a recent highlight transaction, Armand advised AON Brokerage on the reorganisation of its Tunisian subsidiary. Another stand-out matter was advising Generali on a contractual scheme set forth with asset managers of underlying unit-link life insurance policies. Allianz, Wells Fargo and AIG Europe are also clients.

The litigation team at Kennedys is experienced in handling large matters, including mass litigation, with a track record of strong insurance and reinsurance cases. The Paris office opened in 2017 with former BOPS practitioners Christian Bouckaert, Nicolas Bouckaert, Alexis Valençon and Aurélia Cadain, noted for their 'availability and clear communication', and has already become a key player in the French market. Clients come from a broad variety of sectors, including aviation, banking and finance, energy and life sciences.

Norton Rose Fulbright's caseload displays a good spread of transactional, regulatory and litigation work. Fintech and Insurtech instructions and mandates to assist with transactional risks insurance are stand-out specialisms. Benedicte Denis heads the practice, with key support coming from of counsel Orsolya Hegedus.

Ormen Passemard – ORPA Legal adeptly uses its 'well-established expertise' when advising insurers, reinsurers and brokers, fielding a varied practice that covers, among others, professional liability, including directors and officers liability. Banking litigation is an area of particular strength. Former BOPS practitioners Pascal Ormen and Rémi Passemard form the duo at the head of the practice after the rebranding of BOPS into Ormen Passemard – ORPA Legal.