Insurance

Insurance is the cornerstone of our business at Meridian. We have an established reputation for excellence in insurance law and are consistently recognised as a leading Australian insurance law firm. Of our 35 Principals, 30 are dedicated insurance specialists.

As a trusted legal advisor to many Australian and overseas insurers, we are mindful of the strategic and operational challenges facing the industry and those specific to our clients. By understanding the issues and focusing on what matters most, we are well-positioned to deliver claims management, litigation, corporate advisory, and regulatory advice.

Our client relationships and track record include advising general and life insurers, underwriters, self-insured entities, reinsurers, mutuals, underwriting and claims management agencies, brokers and intermediaries, industry associations, and a wide range of corporate organisations.

Delivering cost-effective, pragmatic, and commercially astute advice, we understand our clients’ focus on risk management strategies including monitoring of claims costs, pricing, alternative dispute resolution, and the need for accurate reserving, regulatory and prudential governance.

Our experience extends to Europe and Singapore where we have high-level capabilities delivering advice and services for Lloyd’s Syndicates and the companies market, adhering to reporting protocols, reserving philosophies and binder arrangements as they apply in the Australian market.

We are consistently recognised for our leadership in the insurance space by industry leaders and peers.

In the 2023 edition of Best Lawyers, 16 senior lawyers were acknowledged for their expertise. Australasian Lawyer recognised Meridian Lawyers in their 2022 list of top boutique firms in Personal Injury Law in Australia, and we were awarded a five-star rating (2022) for consistently delivering great client service and exceptional work in personal injury by Insurance Business Magazine/Australasian Lawyer, with one of our Principals also recognised for his personal injury expertise. In the 2023 edition of Doyle’s Guide 15 of our senior insurance lawyers were acknowledged and the firm received rankings in Medical Negligence & Malpractice, Professional Indemnity, and Public and Product Liability. In 2022, we were shortlisted as Insurance Specialist Firm of the Year at the Australasian Law Awards.

We are also proud to have been appointed as the sole Australian law firm to Insuralex, the world’s leading insurance/reinsurance law firm network.

Each of these acknowledgments is a testament to the depth of Meridian’s insurance expertise and commitment to excellence.

SECTORS

Our deep knowledge and experience allows us to help clients navigate the unique industry issues they face in a strategic and practical way.

CONTACT OUR PRACTICE LEADERS

Insights

Case Note | Insurer remedies for false and misleading statements

Case Note | Gravel poses an ‘obvious risk’- Mind Your Step!

Case Note | An Interlocutory Odyssey of Non-Compliance – Dankers v Volunteer Maritime Rescue NSW [2023] ACTSC 395

Case Note | Barking up the wrong tree – County Court of Victoria finds dog attack not sufficiently connected with Insured’s business

Case Note | First in, not necessarily best dressed? Victorian Court of Appeal allows multiple Medical Panel determinations, setting aside the Rosata decision

Case Note | When to Play the Blame Game: Allegations of Contributory Negligence in the ACT – Wilson v Australian Capital Territory [2023] ACTSC 287

Case Note | Persuasive evidence of prejudice – a must when resisting an extension of time application to issue proceedings

Case Note | An error in method alone is not a ‘shaw thing’ on review

Case Note | Procedural fairness requires decision makers to ensure those affected by their decisions are fully aware of relevant distinctions

Case Note | “Obvious risk” a key consideration in personal injury cases

Cyber Security Awareness Month – Are you cyber aware?

Case note | NSW Supreme Court reaffirms expert witnesses are immune from suit

Case Note | Surgery does not, of its own, transform a threshold injury into a non-threshold injury under MAIA

Case Note | Res ipsa loquitor is an inferential reasoning process available to both insurers and claimants

“Property Damage” – Sounds Simple, Right?

21st birthday parties aren’t dead, long live the party!

A change of heart on indemnity | a landmark High Court decision for insurers

Collaborative arrangements between medical practitioners and eligible nurse practitioners and eligible midwives

Insurer permitted to invoke professional liability exclusion clause for Queensland flooding class action

Pursuing personal advantage: an age old story

Agreement to mediate… are you certain?

Regulation of Education and Care Providers: the Department of Communities in WA takes a stricter approach to compliance actions

All in the mind of the Insured – subjective test confirmed for breach of condition to take reasonable precautions

Keeping an eye out: taking reasonable precautions to prevent a risk of harm materialising

Gravel is slippery – isn’t that obvious?

Mind your Ps and safety first!

The importance of health practitioners’ compliance with public health policies and directions

Help, my employer is suing me for negligence!

Can My Replacement Vehicle be a Beamer? Damages for Loss of Use for Tortious Damage to Property

ACCC alleges SmileDirectClub misled consumers regarding health insurance reimbursements for clear teeth aligners

Commercial Occupiers: What is expected of them to keep premises safe?

Waivers and extreme sports

Are all activities performed in a gym recreational? The court says no.

In accommodation settings, does ‘slippery when wet’ mean liable?

Listen to the experts: Chatoor v Health Care Complaints Commission of NSW [2020] NSWCA 111

Swearing of affidavits across Australia – what’s required during the COVID-19 pandemic?

How will Liability Insurance respond to COVID-19?

Emerging Insurance Issues from COVID-19

Appeal softens the blow for defendant following fall from ‘aerial sling’

AFCA Decisions: Online insurance purchases, non-disclosures at inception of policy

A warning to health practitioners: is your professional indemnity insurance in place?

Recent Applications in personal injuries claims impacted by COVID-19

Supreme Court of Victoria opts to hear would-be jury trial by judge alone in an effort to keep the wheels of justice turning

Legal requirements for drone operation are set to widen – what do you need to know?

AHPRA releases revised Guidelines for Mandatory Notifications about registered health practitioners

What is a Drone? Who can own and operate one?

Landlord and agent – the buck stops where?

Claims Against International Airlines

General practitioner successfully appeals negligence finding

A reminder about the potential strength of ‘usual practice’ evidence

Insurance, drones and you.

Powerful new Sports Tribunal leads the way in bolstering integrity in Australian sport. Why is this important?

What’s the damage? Recent trends in General Damages awards for psychiatric injuries in Victoria.

What happens to healthcare complaints in Western Australia?

Ask for help, and ask early – advice for surviving an AHPRA notification

Case Note: Bergin v Queensland Cork & Timber Solutions Pty Ltd [2019] QDC 141

How medical practitioners can manage negative online reviews

Case Note: Caffrey v AAI Limited [2019] QSC 7

Is the ‘irrational’ exception feasible?

Professional Opinions – how much weight do they carry?

Video: Negligence in relation to asbestos-contaminated waste

Case note: Your Onus or Mine?

Unfair Contract Terms: Not if but how

The duty of care requirement – not to be taken for granted

Sparks v Hobson; Gray v Hobson [2018] NSWCA 29: Is this a prelude to the expansion of the peer professional opinion defence in NSW?

Shifting landscape – Insurance law firms are experiencing unprecedented change as the sector evolves

Insurance Broker Remuneration – 5 Legal Considerations  

Outstanding Insurance Lawyer Andrew Sharpe to join Meridian Lawyers’ Sydney Team.

Release of Insurance in Superannuation Voluntary Code of Practice

Court’s disdain for disability claim

70 years in the making: the Civil Liability (Third Party Claims Against Insurers) Act 2017

Vets must be vigilant to avoid legal action

What does mandatory reporting mean for early child care workers?

Dealing with complex facts in assessing contribution for an asbestos exposure injury

Brand loyalty in professional indemnity insurance: risks of shifting insurance cover

The insurer strikes back

General insurers need to be ever mindful of best practice advertising

Attempted murder during offsite training: is the occupier liable for psychiatric injury?

Meridian Lawyers successful in long-running professional negligence case

AWB: the next instalment…

The duty of care owed by a principal contractor – is it delegable?

How will technology change the types of claims we see in the future?

Game of drones: new rules, new challenges

Certain contractual indemnities void in Queensland injury claims – some traps for brokers

Is this the end to using contractual indemnities to apportion liability for workers’ injuries?

Insurance insights: The pitfalls of lending a helping hand

Drones – friend or foe for underwriters?

‘But how can I notify my insurer? All the details are private’

What does a ‘professional service’ mean in the context of a D&O policy exclusion clause?

Queensland to remove 5% permanent impairment threshold for workers seeking damages

Insuring builders: claims by subsequent owners