Next Generation Partners

Firms To Watch: Advice to insurers

Led by Mirjam Boche, Arqis Rechtsanwälte‘s team acts from Munich and Düsseldorf and focuses on W&I insurance matters.

Advice to insurers in Germany

Allen & Overy LLP

Allen & Overy LLP is one of the top players in the German insurance market and offers comprehensive advice on the entire value chain of insurance matters. The group is well versed in traditional insurance law issues, such as supervisory and contract law, while also seamlessly covering interfacing investment, tax and data protection matters, thanks to an interdisciplinary approach. Recent prominent topics include insurtech and the digitisation of the insurance industry. Practice head and co-head of the global insurance practice Jan Schröder specialises in insurance company law and corporate law, among others, while Hans Diekmann is particularly experienced in transactional matters and restructuring. Counsel Achim Schmid assists with company pension schemes and contractual trust arrangements and Stephan Funck is a key contact for alternative investments and structured products. Peter Wehner, who was appointed partner in May 2022, is particularly well versed in company pension schemes and insurance-specific employment law. Counsel Anne Fischer (insurance, reinsurance, digital transformation) left the firm in September 2022 and joined Norton Rose Fulbright as partner.

Practice head(s):

Jan Schröder


Testimonials

‘Perfect lead management by a contact person or a team that enables competent and reliable advice on all legal areas from a single source and at the same time is very efficient.’

‘Very extensive experience and know-how across industries and legal areas and therefore a sparring partner for very complex issues.’

‘Always very solution-oriented and goal-oriented.’

Key clients

Allianz Group


Aegon


Athora Group


AXA Liabilities Mangers


Canada Life Group


Coya AG


Deutsche Betriebs-Renten Holding GmbH & Co. KG


Frankfurter Leben Gruppe


MLP SE


Munich Re


Swiss Life Group


Viridium Gruppe


Zurich Group


Work highlights


  • Advising Erichsen GmbH on the sale of the cybermarking business to Fnlex GmbH.

  • Advising Allianz SE on the acquisition of a majority stake in European Reliance S.A.

  • Advising Frankfurter Lebensversicherung on the acquisition of two residential real estate portfolios from Asargo Capital Partners and on the acquisition of a portfolio of non-performing real estate loans.

Hengeler Mueller

With the retirement of Daniel Wilm (insurance law, corporate and supervisory law) at the beginning of 2022, the insurance practice at Hengeler Mueller underwent a generational change. The firm remains among the top addresses for advising insurance companies on corporate law and supervisory matters and is renowned for its transactional work. The team also offers comprehensive support on the entire spectrum of insurance law matters, such as reinsurance and company pension schemes, and handles current issues, including the Brexit-related settlement and transfer of insurance portfolios. Carl-Philipp Eberlein is particularly well versed at the interface between insurance supervisory law, banking supervisory law and financial market regulation, while Vera Jungkind primarily advises on compliance issues and internal investigations. Daniel Illhardt focuses on corporate law.

Clyde & Co LLP

Clyde & Co LLP represents insurance companies in claims and also acts in an advisory capacity, where the team focuses on products, corporate and regulatory issues, including restructuring and compliance. Another key strength is the support in digitisation matters, including data protection and insurtech. This is complemented by interface competencies in competition and antitrust law. Practice head Henning Schaloske focuses on product development, regulatory issues and market entry and is also experienced in dispute resolution. Eva-Maria Barbosa is a proven expert in supervisory and corporate law, while clients instruct Andreas Börner on M&A underwriting and insurance contract law.

Practice head(s):

Henning Schaloske


Testimonials

‘Very experienced team that is very dedicated and thinks outside the box.’

‘The interest of the client always comes first.’

Key clients

AIG


Allianz Gruppe


AXA


Chubb


Compre Group


Delvag (Lufthansa Group)


Domestic General


Dual Deutschland


Finlex


Gothaer Gruppe


Howden Group


LIVA Europe


Markel International Insurance


Parametrix Solutions


Swiss Re


Versicherungskammer Bayern


Westfälische Provinzial Versicherung AG


Wüstenrot & Württembergische AG


Work highlights


  • Advising Finlex on the acquisition of cyber broker Erichsen.

  • Advising the US InsurTech Parametrix Insurance on European market entry.

  • Advising a leading insurance group in connection with the restructuring of an insurer in eleven different countries, including Europe, the USA and Brazil.

DLA Piper

Insurance supervisory law is the central pillar of DLA Piper's insurance practice. Here, the practice, headed by Ludger Giesberts, advises insurance companies on cooperations with online platform operators, among others. Growth areas include compliance matters, where sector-specific clients benefit from the team's cross-practice approach. This is also a key strength of Gunne Bähr, who advises on compliance, governance and regulatory issues and maintains good contacts with BaFin (Federal Financial Supervisory Authority). Christian Schneider is well versed in liability insurance, including contentious and non-contentious matters, while Andreas Meyer-Landrut is particularly experienced at the interface to corporate law.

Practice head(s):

Ludger Giesberts


Other key lawyers:

Gunne BährChristian Schneider; Volker Lemmer; Andreas Meyer-Landrut


Testimonials

‘Excellent industry knowledge and networking. Outstanding lawyers and thinkers. Excellent collaboration between Gunne Bähr and Volker Lemmer.’

‘The interdisciplinary coordination between the individual legal experts, who can easily be consulted as required, should be emphasized. This means that the legal advice for the client is presented as a “seamless service”.’

‘Christian Schneider brings considerable added value, since he does not provide one-sided, client-friendly advice, but advises constructively and in relation to the matter at hand.’

‘Gunne Bähr is a recognized expert in the field of international insurance programs. He can grasp complex issues quickly and is focused on business-oriented solutions without losing sight of the overall context.’

‘The team works very successfully and cooperatively with clients and always finds solutions in new situations.’

‘Christian Schneider is a specialist in the area of financial lines.’

Key clients

Zurich Insurance


Zurich Beteiligungs-AG


VOV GmbH


Berkshire Hathaway European Insurance DAC


Work highlights


  • Cross-border and cross-practice advice to a listed insurance group on the design of life insurance conditions for the German market, in particular for family offices and HNWIs.

  • Advising an international insurance company on a multi-jurisdictional insurance contract with an online travel agency and on the overall cooperation with them as well as on various wording projects.

  • Support for an insurance community in an international compliance project on insurance tax and the Insurance Tax Modernization Act in all European countries.

Hogan Lovells International LLP

Hogan Lovells International LLP focuses on supporting the insurance sector in transactions as well as national and international restructurings. Other core areas include company pension schemes, primary insurance and reinsurance products and digitisation matters. Clients benefit from the firm’s international positioning and close collaboration with other locations, including London and Paris. Practice head Christoph Küppers complements this service offering with particular expertise in compliance and restructuring. Transactional support is also a core focus of Christoph Louven, including cross-border matters, while Birgit Reese handles regulatory issues in addition to M&A.

Practice head(s):

Christoph Küppers


Testimonials

‘The extremely specialized team covers relevant legal areas and works very well together. The right contact persons are always involved in order to clarify complex questions.’

‘Christoph Küppers has very good knowledge of the market. Legal advice is always very targeted, pragmatic and legally sound.’

Key clients

Konzern Versicherungskammer


Münchener Rück


Gothaer Gruppe


Generali Real Estate S.p.A.


ERGO


Talanx-Gruppe


Work highlights


  • Advising the Versicherungskammer group on investments in the German energy infrastructure market, including the successful acquisition of the Ferngas Group and the intended acquisition of the Thyssengas Group.

  • Advising Münchener Rück und der ERGO on M&A, corporate law and related areas of law (such as IP, IT, data protection and contract law).

  • Assistance with M&A transactions and general corporate and regulatory advice to the Gothaer Group.

Linklaters

Linklaters' insurance law expertise is particularly strong at the interface between corporate law and M&A as well as supervisory law, where clients are supported in restructurings, transactions and business expansion. Further competencies in advising on reinsurance structures, compliance and insurtech reflect the team's broad approach, which also includes sector-specific issues pertaining to ESG. Thomas Broichhausen, who is experienced in corporate governance and bancassurance matters, jointly acts with Wolfgang Krauel as co-head of the global insurance practice. Frederik Winter advises on insurance supervisory law and supports clients in transactions and restructurings.

Practice head(s):

Wolfgang Krauel; Thomas Broichhausen


Other key lawyers:

Frederik Winter; Katrin Zink


Testimonials

‘It is particularly important to mention the level-headed and solution-oriented professionalism of the team. All meetings lead to satisfactory results in a constructive exchange and the team members obviously have a positive relationship with each other.’

‘The multinational structure helps to enable the mandated issues to be processed efficiently.’

‘Frederik Winter’s level-headed and calm manner always allows for a pleasant way of communicating.’

Work highlights


  • Advising InsurTech Clark on the acquisition of the finanzen.de group from Allianz X and, in return, on Allianz X’s stake in Clark.

  • Advising the InsurTech Clark on the change of legal form into a stock corporation and then into a Societas Europaea.

  • Ongoing advice to Element Insurance on financing rounds.

BACH LANGHEID DALLMAYR

BACH LANGHEID DALLMAYR specialises in liability and insurance law and offers expertise, which encompasses dispute resolution as well as non-contentious advice. The team assists insurance companies with supervisory and corporate law issues as well as with product developments. Practice head Joachim Grote is particularly well versed in supervisory matters, including the introduction of compliance systems. Life insurance and data protection are key strengths of Alexander Beyer and Tobias Britz, with the former also being active in insurance broker law, while Britz also advises on company pension schemes. Since December 2022, clients have also been supported from a new location in Dortmund.

Practice head(s):

Joachim Grote


Other key lawyers:

Alexander Beyer; Tobias Britz; Martin Schaaf


Testimonials

‘BLD has outstanding subject matter expertise across the team.’

‘BLD presents itself as a well-established team that always delivers high-quality, target-oriented results that always include the current status of case law.’

‘Alexander Beyer offers expert advice and very good templates and contract reviews in the area of liability and property insurance.’

CMS

CMS advises clients across the entire spectrum of insurance and reinsurance law, with the international client focus being particularly characteristic of the practice's work. In this regard, insurers are supported by Winfried Schnepp's team on regulatory issues, product design and digital matters. In the context of special products, the firm covers cyber, art and animal insurance matters and also demonstrates corporate law expertise. Counsel Thomas Maur has particular experience in insurance contract and insurance broker law.

Practice head(s):

Winfried Schnepp


Other key lawyers:

Thomas Maur


Dentons

Dentons' insurance law practice is renowned for its expertise in W&I insurance matters, which insurers regularly call upon. Other key topics include insurtech and company pension schemes, which are complemented by capacities at various interfaces such as antitrust law. Practice head Kai Goretzky focuses on sector-specific digitisation issues, while Michael Graf handles related tax law matters. Sascha Grosjean specialises in company pension schemes.

Practice head(s):

Kai Goretzky


Testimonials

‘Kai Goretzky is an outstanding expert with specialist knowledge that he can put to optimal use.’

Key clients

CherryHUB


Crowford & Company


Versicherungsverein des Bankgewerbes a.G


Gothaer Finanzholding AG


Vivy GmbH (Allianz Group)


Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG


BG Kliniken Ludwigshafen und Tübingen gGmbH / BG Kliniken – Klinikverbund der gesetzlichen Unfallversicherung gGmbH


UPS Capital


elinor


Baloise Vie


Ambridge


Work highlights


  • Advising the Gothaer Insurance Group on the assessment of an intended insurance policy for vintage vehicles in terms of regulatory law, insurance contract law, sales law, antitrust law and data protection law.

  • Representing and advising Crawford & Company GmbH as an international claims adjuster for motor vehicle liability and comprehensive insurance claims in a model case involving questions of compulsory insurance law and European insurance supervisory law.

KPMG Law in Germany

KPMG Law in Germany demonstrates expertise in insurance supervisory law, where it advises on governance and compliance issues. Transactions, run-offs and outsourcing are further key topics of the practice, which is jointly led by Miriam Bouazza and Ulrich Keunecke. The advice on cross-border matters constitutes a mainstay of the German team, which is also the firm's coordination center within the global insurance network. Keunecke's expertise encompasses Brexit-related issues and solvency II restructuring as well as contractual insurance law issues. Frank Püttgen advises on regulatory matters and matters pertaining to financial lines.

Practice head(s):

Ulrich Keunecke; Miriam Bouazza


Other key lawyers:

Frank PüttgenLinda Oppermann


Work highlights


  • Advising an international insurance group on a longstanding Brexit project.

  • Ongoing advice to Deutsche Reisesicherungsfonds GmbH on the establishment, application and implementation of an insurance provider to protect against the risk of insolvency of travel providers of package tours.

Noerr

Noerr focuses on contractual insurance law matters, particularly D&O, pecuniary loss liability and product liability. The team also advises on interfacing issues, such as corporate and IT outsourcing, with additional experience in trending topics such as cyber insurance and digitisation matters. Practice head Thomas Heitzer specialises in insurance portfolio transfers as well as restructuring and run-offs, among others. Lisa Haseloff, who made partner in January 2022, is well versed in insurance supervisory law and assists with compliance and portfolio transfers.

Practice head(s):

Thomas Heitzer


Other key lawyers:

Lisa Haseloff


Testimonials

‘Outstanding specialists with outstanding accessibility.’

‘Precise, to the point, strategic and forward-looking advice.’

‘High quality with absolute adherence to schedules.’

‘Dr. Heitzer makes almost every appointment request happen.’

Key clients

Debeka Krankenversicherungsverein a.G.


Getsafe GmbH


Deutsche


Erstversicherungsgruppe


heycar Group (Mobility Trader Holding GmbH)


Investmentbank der französischen Sparkassen und Genossenschaftsbanken


LVM Landwirtschaftlicher Versicherungsverein Münster e.G.


Deutsche Pensionskasse eines DAX-30-Konzerns


Next Big Thing AG


Versicherungsanstalt des öffentlichen Rechts


Versicherungskammer Bayern


Work highlights


  • Advice to Debeka Krankenversicherungsverein AG on comprehensive IT outsourcing.

  • Advising LVM on the restructuring and sale of a bank holding.

  • Advising the ERGO Group on the transaction and spin-off of insurance portfolios.

Oppenhoff

Oppenhoff offers expertise in transactional insurance law matters, where particularly the insurtech sector benefits from close cooperation with the firm's IT and data protection experts. The team also covers other insurance law matters, including W&I insurance, reinsurance as well as retrocession agreements. Practice head Peter Etzbach assists with cross-border transactions, joint ventures and restructurings, especially in the insurtech sector. The underwriting of W&I insurance is a focus of Till Liebau, while Hanno Goltz covers corporate law matters. At the beginning of 2022, Anna-Catharina von Girsewald made partner; she advises on insurance supervisory law and compliance.

Practice head(s):

Peter Etzbach


Other key lawyers:

Hanno Goltz; Markus Rasner; Till Liebau; Anna-Catharina von Girsewald


Testimonials

‘Dream team for every W&I insurer. Professionally and personally great!’

‘High expertise and economic thinking.’

‘The Oppenhoff team has continuously invested in a good talent pool and has a good mix of partner know-how paired with experienced and hard-working employees.’

Key clients

Allianz Global Life dac


Arch Insurance


FVV-Ford Versicherungs-Vermittlungs-GmbH


Hannover Rück


Liberty Global Transaction Solutions


PKV Verband der Privaten Krankenversicherung e.V.


RiskPoint


ROLAND Rechtschutz-Gruppe


Samava


Tokio Marine HCC


VHV Versicherungsgruppe


Zurich Versicherungsgruppe


Work highlights


  • Advising VHV Allgemeine AG on the acquisition of 91% of the Italian insurance company Val Piave from the ITAS insurance group and the subsequent integration.

  • Advising the VHV Group on a restructuring.

  • Ongoing advice to Liberty Global Transactions Solutions on the underwriting of M&A insurance policies (Warranty & Indemnity Insurance and Contingent Risk Insurance).

Taylor Wessing

Taylor Wessing comprehensively advises on insurance law with a focus on insurance supervisory law, in particular the implementation of the Insurance Distribution Directive, and insurance broker law. The team also supports insurers in compliance and ESG issues, transactions and reinsurance contracts. Gunbritt Kammerer-Galahn heads the German group and also coordinates the firm's international Financial Services & Insurance Group. Issues pertaining to statutory health insurance companies are a core focus of Oliver Klöck, while Karolina Lange-Kulmann covers health-related regulatory matters.

Practice head(s):

Gunbritt Kammerer-Galahn


Testimonials

‘The Düsseldorf team around Gunbritt Kammerer-Galahn is very dedicated and detailed.’

‘The mandate was always looked after at eye level and never from above. This has created mutual trust and appreciation.’

‘The team is always open to listening to the client’s knowledge of the industry, incorporating it and including it appropriately in the legal advice and litigation strategy.’

‘Gunbritt Kammerer-Galahn has excellent knowledge of insurance law and reinsurance law. These are paired with very good procedural law knowledge and skills.

Key clients

AXA Versicherung AG


CHUBB European Group SE


Crédit Agricole Assurances (CACI) SA


Enterprise Rent-A-Car UK Limited


ERGO Group AG


Fidelis Insurance


Finlex GmbH


Gothaer Finanzholding AG / Gothaer Krankenversi-cherung AG


ING-DiBa AG


Munich Re AG / New Reinsurance Company Limited (MR-Tochter in CH)


On Service GmbH


Partner Re Europe SE, Zurich Branch


Provinzial Versicherung AG


R+V Re


REMCI® Finance GmbH


Work highlights


  • Advising Gothaer Finanzholding AG/ Gothaer Krankenversicherung AG regarding the integration of a health app.

  • Advising Munich Re AG on reinsurance contract law with regard to the accumulation loss concept.

  • Advising R+V Re on reinsurance contract law with regard to the accumulation loss concept.

Clifford Chance

Advising insurance companies on real estate transactions is a central pillar of Clifford Chance's insurance team, which is also well-versed in advising insurers on M&A transactions and corporate restructuring. Other key areas include compliance, risk transfer and insurance supervisory law. Thomas Krecek and Jörg Rhiel are experienced in national and cross-border transactions, while Marco Simonis advises on investment funds and asset management structures.

Other key lawyers:

Thomas Krecek; Marco Simonis; Jan Grabbe; Jörg Rhiel; Christian Keilich


Gleiss Lutz

Insurers and reinsurers benefit from Gleiss Lutz‘s in-depth expertise in corporate and insurance supervisory law, which is available at the locations in Munich, Frankfurt and Stuttgart. Thanks to the firm’s full-service approach, the service offering ranges from compliance and corporate governance to M&A transactions and restructuring and is complemented by clients’ representation in contentious proceedings. Tobias Harzenetter and Andreas Löhdefink jointly head the practice.

Other key lawyers:

Michael Arnold; Ingo Brinker


GÖRG Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwälten mbB

GÖRG Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwälten mbB advises its clients with a focus on insurance supervision and distribution, where the team assists with joint ventures and digital solutions, among others. Insurers are supported in the drafting of contracts and insurance terms as well as risk analyses. Practice head Roland Hoffmann-Theinert advises at the interface to corporate law and jointly heads the team with Jochen Lehmann, who is well versed in litigation as well as insurance supervision and distribution. Restructuring, run-offs and capital investments are among Christoph Niemeyer‘s core competencies.

Other key lawyers:

Christoph Niemeyer


Key clients

Allianz Partners SAS


HUK-COBURG


Samsung Electronics GmbH


HEK Hanseatische Krankenkasse


Work highlights


  • Advising Allianz Partners SAS on the introduction of a mobile payment product.

  • Advice to HUK-Coburg on a stake in Neodigital Versicherung AG and on the establishment of a joint venture in the field of motor vehicle insurance with Neodigital.

  • Advising Samsung Electronics GmbH on offering insurance services.