Insurance and Re-insurance

Insurance coverage is an essential part of maritime projects, which often include complex insurance issues. Our team of lawyers regularly advises on marine insurance policies providing comprehensive advice on the issues raised by major casualties. We also advise on coverage and recovery/subrogation issues.

Our expertise covers all aspects of marine insurance: Hull and Machinery, P&I, cargo/commodities and war risks, allowing us to provide advice on both non contentious and contentious issues.

Recent matters include:

• Representing Hull and Machinery insurers in a dispute with the P&I Club on a supply vessel declared a total loss following a grounding leading the client to a favourable interpretation of the P&I policy;
• Advising H&M underwriters in a complex hull loss;
• Advising P&I club in a collision leading to a pollution;
• Counsel to several cargo underwriters in salvage and general average claims and recoveries;
• Advising an insurance broker in the coverage of commodities under CMA agreement.

Our team regularly advises insurers, insured, re-insurers, re-insured and brokers on industrial risks and political risks, either when defining the coverage and/or negotiating the draft of policy or in the handling of claims.

Recent matters include:

• Advising a credit company on insurance coverage after the default of a major actor of Energy in Spain,
• Advising a broker / insured in respect of the default of an African State in the payment of road infrastructure;
• Intervening on behalf of a reinsured in relation to CAR losses of €400M to a German electrical plant subject to German law and French law (with our German correspondent).

Our team is composed of lawyers with dual expertise in Insurance law and Construction law.

Stream’s lawyers assist French and foreign clients, including owners, companies, insurers and brokers, with the various issues related to construction insurance, whether mandatory (damage to works, ten-year civil liability) or optional (“all-risks construction”, pre-delivery, collapse guarantee, etc.), both before (preventive summary proceedings) and during the completion of the work (late delivery, defects, interruption of work, disputes between companies, subcontractors, suppliers, etc.).

Stream also represents professionals at all stages of judicial or administrative litigation that may be initiated against them, while favouring, in all circumstances, the amicable route and alternative dispute resolution methods.

Through our lawyers expertise in both advice and litigation, the team regularly assists in the drafting or modification of various policies.

Examples of recent cases :

• Advising an insurance company in the event of a fire on a building belonging to a public institution;
• Advising an insurance company in the event of a claim following the renovation of an agro-industrial silo;
• Advising an insurance company in connection with a serial dispute involving defective products installed on numerous construction sites.

Faced with the emergence of cyber risk in the transport and shipping industry (e.g. the Not Petya virus hitting a major shipping line), Stream has developed expertise in this constantly evolving field to offer its clients support in both the prevention and management of claims, which are now multi-sectoral.

Examples of recent cases:

• Advice and support for a terminal facing a cyber incident
• Counsel of clients who have been the victims of cybercrime (phishing) on both criminal and civil matters
• Assistance on cyber insurance coverage
• Counsel of an industrial client in the gas sector facing a cyber incident