Claims

• Claims advisory
• Claims Litigation before various fora
• Claims Audit
• Claims monitoring

Litigation

• Liability claims
• Third Party and Subrogation claims
• Consumer disputes
• Ombudsman complaints
• Coverage Disputes
• Advising on Defense Strategy
• Insurer – Reinsurer disputes

Product Development

• Product Analysis and Advisory
• Product Review and drafting of policy wordings
• Product Certification

Advisory

• Product related advisory
• Compliance related advisory
• Dispute advisory
• Advisory on HR related issues
• Contract advisory
• General advisory on legal issues pertaining to the Insurance industry

The Insurance Team

Our Insurance Team is dedicated to providing tailor made, creative solutions towards:

• Advise and review of insurance claim documentation and associated documents.
• Applicability of local laws and regulations.
• Drafting and review of product documentation.
• Claims advisory and handling.
• Litigation advisory and handling before various forums, such as Consumer Fora, Arbitrations and Courts.

The Risk Review Team

• Identify opportunities for savings in claims management while maintaining high claims service standards including claims monitoring.
• Embed best practice processes in claims management and administration while minimising expense and disruption to business.

We are a pre-eminent insurance firm having collective experience of over two decades with a deep bench of experienced lawyers handling both insurance and reinsurance advisory, litigation and documentation. The Team advises on a full range of insurance matters such as Product advisory, Product development, Claim advisory, Civil Litigation, HR and Compliance and third party documentation. We are unique in being able to offer comprehensive legal services and international expertise in the insurance industry as under:

• Product documentation and advisory.
• Drafting diverse insurance related agreements Risk Sharing, Employee, Reinsurance, Vendor, etc.
• Monitoring complex insurance litigation within and outside India.
• Consulting on the management of high severity and complex claims.
• Identifying liability issues.
• Advising on reinsurance documentation and disputes
• Advising on reinsurance driven products.
• Advising on outsourcing issues.
• Handling large cross border disputes between General Insurance companies and foreign re-insurers.
• Advise on the applicability of antitrust laws to co insurance arrangements.
• Advise on the applicability of F&U Guidelines to reinsurance driven products.
• Advise on the laws applicable to insurers with reference to outsourcing.
• We are frequently instructed to deal with large, complex and multi-jurisdictional insurance disputes by major national and multi national Insurance and Reinsurance companies. Key areas of expertise include claims repudiation, claim recovery and maintainability.
• Insurers frequently turn to Somandy and Associates for advice in the creation and development of new cutting edge insurance products including some award winning products. We regularly assist insurers right from scratch in the process of drafting policy wordings, policy forms, endorsements We collaborate with our clients, offering fresh perspectives and strategic suggestions on products they have developed internally to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. We have played a pivotal role in the recent launch of India’s first individual Cyber Insurance policy by one of the top five Indian General Insurance Companies.
• We have played a pivotal role in drafting a recent award winning product for one of the top five Indian General Insurance Companies.
• Handling credit claim disputes in relation to bullion export.
• We identify and monitor trends affecting insurers’ underlying exposures, advising insurers concerning the underwriting of specific risks or entire classes of We have aided in furnishing real-world claim scenarios drawn from case law to serve as illustrative examples of risks faced by potential policyholders.
• With India Inc getting more sensitive to sexual harassment issues , POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) policy is now fundamental part of all organizational Due to our expertise in handling this delicate issue, our services are frequently tapped by major Indian Insurance companies and we have deployed resources on their respective POSH committees.
• The firm provides advice on GST and other tax and compliance related issues faced by Insurers.
• Advised on and handling claims with reference to Professional Indemnity, Technology, Commercial General Liability, D&O, Marine, Mutual Fund Asset Protection, Workman’s Compensation Insurance, Crime and Professional Indemnity, Contractor All Risk, Group Personal Accident, Comprehensive Mega Risk, Special contingency, Errors and Omission,etc.
• Advised on the Facultative Reinsurance arrangement of a large private insurer.
• Advised with reference to Obamacare (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) and its local applicability.
• Advised with reference to captive retrocession/reinsurance issues.
• Advised on the Extended Warranty Program of a large multinational.
• Advised on Aircraft Insurance.
• Advised on Hull Insurance.
• Advised a multinational Insurance Company on venue and seat of arbitration in relation to cross border arbitration disputes.
• Author of the chapter on India in the recently published book by the American Supreme Court Bar Association, “The Global Directors and Officers Desk Book”.
• Invited to write a blog on “The Evolutionary Change in the Liability of an Independent Director in India” in the blog the “D&O Diary”.
• Essayed the legal chapters pertaining to Indian insurance / reinsurance industry in the monograph “A Transformative Agenda For The Indian Insurance Industry and its Policy Framework” authored by H Ansari and Mr. Arun Agarwal.

• We share a strong working relationship with lawyers in Singapore, Dubai, London, United States of America, South Africa and Australia.
• In India, we have the infrastructure to handle matters in Maharashtra, Goa, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Chandigarh, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.