Key areas of work for Clyde & Co's Santiago office range from coverage analysis when deciding whether a claim should be indemnified, to supervision of loss adjustment procedures and ensuring compliance with Chile’s regulations; and recent growth areas for the practice include aviation and finance-related insurance mandates. ‘Providing excellent legal advice’, the team also assists with reinsurance; regulatory work before the Financial Market Commission; defence-side litigation; and recovery of paid indemnities from third parties that are liable for losses. The group is headed up by the current president of the Latin American Centre for Mediation and Arbitration of Insurance and Reinsurance, Felipe Hoetz, who is ’one of the best insurance lawyers in the country’, and has approximately 25 years’ experience in insurance, reinsurance and loss adjusting. Notably focused on high-value losses, Hoetz was also elected president of the reinsurance working group of the Ibero-Latin American Committee of the International Insurance Law Association (CILA-AIDA) in early 2024. Providing key support, disputes specialist Jorge Meneses maintains a robust insurance litigation practice alongside his leadership of the firm’s public, administrative and regulatory law offering in Santiago.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘They are international lawyers, part of a network of law firms and offices established throughout the world, and know how to manage cross-border claims.’

  • ‘The insurance, corporate, and litigation areas come together very efficiently, providing excellent legal advice.’

  • ‘Felipe Hoetz is a highly experienced lawyer, who has a professional approach to reviewing all background information so as to better understand the challenges he faces. He coordinates well with his partners in the corporate and litigation areas to provide excellent service.’

  • ‘Felipe Hoetz is one of the best insurance lawyers in the country. He's efficient and knows the Chilean insurance market like few others.’

Key clients

  • Swiss Re
  • Munich Re
  • Hannover Re
  • Lloyd’s
  • Zurich
  • Generali UK
  • AIG
  • Southbridge
  • Orión
  • Continental

Work highlights

Assisted Generali UK with the loss adjustment procedure of claims that were filed by forestry companies Arauco and CMPC.
Assisted Zurich Chile, Zurich Norway and reinsurers with a claim filed by the Chilean subsidiaries of Statkraft (Norway), further to extremely heavy rains that began to fall in central Chile in 2023 (causing flooding).
Assisted Compañía de Seguros Generales Continental (and reinsurers led by Korean Re and Swiss Re) in judicial recovery actions.

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Practice head

Felipe Hoetz