THIRD PARTY LIABILITY
General Liability
Our insurance practice has vast experience in handling and litigating disputes under general liability insurance policies. Insurer clients issue general liability coverage to small businesses all the way to FTSE MIB companies and face claims of all levels of severity and monetary value. General liability claims arise from bodily injury, property damage, financial loss and include a diverse variety of sub-types. Our lawyers are not only well versed in insurance coverage issues, but also very experienced litigators.
Any Profession
We have solid expertise in professional, corporate governors’ and public officers’ liability. The relevant legislation is continuously subject to amendments which impacts on the attitude taken by the judging authorities. In the past 60 years we have been engaged to advise many class of professionals and are very “hands on” on the background history as well as on the evolving regulations and judge made law.
Medical Malpractice
For many years we have been appointed to defend hospitals, clinics, doctors and their insurers on a wide range of Medmal claims. We are frequently asked to take over the claim’s management from the very beginning in order to attempt mediation or settlement avoiding litigation proceedings; we are often appointed to assist in reviewing reserves and providing guidelines on complex medmal claims management. Our team experience in medical malpractice litigation over the years exceeds 400 cases litigated in civil and criminal Courts. Audits on medmal claim books cover more than 4000 files.
Constructors and Employers
Constructors’ and builders' liability is within our traditional expertise. We have represented major Italian insurers in a wide number of claims litigated against their insured constructors’ companies. Recent disputes include defending claims for a Genoese museum and a residential complex collapse which had caused both substantial damages and personal injuries. Our practice on employer’s liability for accidents at work dates back to the eighties when we used to be appointed by Italian insurers to represent the insured steel mills on claims filed by their workers suffering injuries at work.
SPECIALTY RISKS
Cash in Transit
Over the past ten years we have developed significant expertise in CIT insurance. We assist Lloyd’s underwriters both on policy drafting and coverage issues and with representation in court on litigated matters. Given the potential very high claim amounts, coinsurance issues are often involved in such disputes that require a combination of technical knowledge, insurance experience, and solid contractual law practice.
Trade Credit Insurance
Trade Credit insurance is a very technical line of risk. We advise our clients on insurance terms and conditions and coverage issues; we pursue subrogated recoveries following the payment of claims, including advising insurers on litigation, arbitration, and insolvency proceedings.
Cyber Risk
Cyber security risk has become a key issue impacting on business, government and our everyday life. Organizations of all sizes from all sectors face legal and technical risks with global corporations, SMEs and public bodies all having been subject to damaging cyber events and at risk of financial loss, disruption and reputational damage. We co-operate with cyber security experts to provide a coordinated approach to the legal and technical aspects of cyber risk advising insurers on coverage issues, policy drafting and wording, data breach and cyber incidents.
ADVISORY & DRAFTING
Policy Drafting and Interpretation
Accurate policy wording is the fundamental instrument available to insurers to define their exposure towards their insured clients and third parties. When policies are issued in Italy on behalf of foreign insurers or underwriters translation issues often cause misunderstandings between the operators producing grey areas in the policy terms. All such discrepancies go to the claimants’ advantage and must be avoided with careful policy drafting from the very beginning. Areas we cover include professional indemnity and negligence, D&O, product liability, cash in transit, trade credit and cyber risk.
Complex Claims | P&L
Very often mingling complex claims with the daily claims process can have a severe negative impact on processing time and settlement metrics. Where a claim is likely to be litigated, we believe that utilizing internal qualified legal advice helps to address and design either litigation or settlement strategies in a much more effective manner. The same applies to complex and substantial recoveries that - for example - may need prompt advice and action to secure the claim before considerable sums are invested in court litigation.
P&L teams up specialised lawyers of Piccinini & Partners with the experienced adjusters of Lawgical in order to provide clients with the flexibility to craft and implement solutions that will address all of their complex claim needs. P&L has the ability to provide complex claims services from the first report of the loss through the litigation preparation and management, to the recovery actions that may be required thereafter. Claims and recoveries are handled based on each client’s specific contract, which encompasses requirements and standards.
Claims Solutions | P&L
Piccinini & Partners have been a leading claim handling firm since the late nineties. In 2009, Lawgical was set up to take over Piccinini & Associati loss adjustment practice in an effort to provide claim services through a specialised unit. Today Piccinini & Partners and Lawgical share a knowledge management project, providing the Lloyd’s Market and the international insurance community with TPA, claims handling and monitoring and auditing services.
We have wide experience in loss adjustment practice both in the liability and property classes of risks, with particular emphasis on professional indemnity. When not directly involved, we are often appointed by Lloyd’s to monitor their claims portfolio and to audit brokers’ or cover holders’ compliance with the given underwriting guidelines. Most of our claims people are lawyers who have had experience in court contrasting professional negligence claims on behalf of Lloyd’s underwriters, Italian and International Insurers.
We handle major broker, Managing General Agent (MGA) and insurer-led schemes, dealing with several notifications. These include accountants’ professional indemnity (PI), architects and other construction professionals, Independent Financial Advisors (IFAs), and first party cyber schemes. Our claims handlers provide pro-active, responsive, and cost-effective claims management, driven by a desire to provide outstanding client service. We spend time getting to know you and your claims handling philosophy, so that we deal with your clients in the way you would and consider ourselves an extension of you – particularly when acting under a delegated authority. By combining experienced claims handlers with lawyers, we achieve a complete, seamless service in which you, your policyholders, and their brokers can be confident.
CONTACT PERSONS
Contact Partner: Michel’Angelo Piccinini
International Insurance: Andrea Ogno
National Insurance: Leopoldo Bruzzone
Claims Solutions: Paola Cuzzilla
