This seminar offers you the chance to obtain an update on legal and regulatory developments in relation to TPD, life insurance and death benefits claims. Examine the provision of the new life insurance Code of Practice. Benefit from essential practice guidance on income protection claims. Learn about good faith and TPD claims identified for refusal, and how to set aside the insurer’s decision. All this and more from some of Sydney’s best personal injury specialists.
10.00am to 11.00am Perils and Pitfalls of Income Protection Claims
- Offset clauses
- Pre-existing condition clauses and embedded pre-existing condition clauses
- Variations on total disability definitions
Presented by Stephen Walsh, Barrister, Sir James Martin Chambers
11.15am to 12.15pm Setting Aside the Insurer’s Decision
- The circumstances in which a court can do this
- The principles and policy issues underlying the court’s power
- Procedure and substance: challenging the formation of the insurer’s opinion and the opinion itself
Presented by Colin Purdy, Barrister, Edmund Barton Chambers
12.15pm to 1.15pm Better Protection for Consumers: Updates to the Life Insurance Code of Practice
Understand the background to the updated Life Insurance Code of Practice, plus explore the following key developments:
- Extending increased support and protections to customers, including those going through times of vulnerability, financial hardship or experiencing a mental health condition, both before policies are entered into as well as throughout the claims process
- Focusing on the entire customer experience
- Making underwriting decisions more transparent
- Strengthening the sanctions which the Life Code Compliance Committee can apply for non-compliance
Presented by Sylvia Quang, Partner, and Rebecca Kort, Associate, HWL Ebsworth
Chair:
Paresh Khandhar SC, Frederick Jordan Chambers, Leading Insurance Law Senior Counsel, Doyles Guide 2022
9.00am to 10.00am TPD Claims: Duty of Utmost Good Faith: A Practical Guide to TPD Claims Identified for Refusal
- The duty of utmost good faith: key principle in claims assessment (TPD)
- Insurer obligations v’s claimant requirements: investigation and assessment information
- Information gaps in claims assessment: the importance of identifying TPD Policy terms
- Procedural fairness letters: claims identified for refusal
- Responding to procedural fairness letters and matters for response
Presented by David Coorey, Special Counsel, Carroll and O’Dea
Description
Attend and earn 4 CPD units in Substantive Law
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
11.00am to 11.15am Morning tea
Testimonials
Really insightful experience, all presenters were great. Good references to caselaw too.
The presentations were engaging and the content was very relevant.
Presenters
Paresh Khandhar SC, Frederick Jordan Chambers
Paresh maintains a very busy practice appearing for clients in the Supreme Court and District Court of New South Wales as well as various statutory tribunals. His work includes complex causation disputes, catastrophic injuries and TPD & Life Claims. Complementing his litigation practice, Paresh regularly appears at Mediations and informal settlement forums. An active member of the legal community, Paresh has held several significant appointments. He was a long-standing member of the Bar Council including as Junior Vice President and served on its Executive. Paresh was a Director of the New South Wales Bar Association and a past Director of Frederick Jordan Chambers from where he has practiced for over 20 years. Paresh is an active member of the Bar Association’s Common Law Committee and also sits on the District Court Rules Committee. Prior to being called to the Bar, Paresh practiced as a solicitor in the areas of commercial disputes and general insurance laying the foundation for what would later become his core focus as a Barrister. In addition to his professional qualifications in law, Paresh holds a Bachelor of Business, majoring in Economics and Finance. He also holds a Diploma in Corporate Governance from the Chartered Secretaries Institute of Australia.
David Coorey, Special Counsel, Carroll and O’Dea
David Coorey is special counsel working in Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers Parramatta office, servicing Western Sydney and beyond. David has more than 20 years’ experience as a solicitor working predominantly in the area of consumer law (financial services) at Legal Aid NSW, as well as litigation experience (Freehills) and more recently as a decision maker (Ombudsman) at Australian Financial Complaints Authority. David is committed to achieving fair outcomes for clients who often face great challenges in successfully navigating the legal system. David has specialist experience in banking and insurance law. This includes life insurance disputes including Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) and income protection.
Sylvia Quang, Partner, HWL Ebsworth
Sylvia Quang is a Partner in HWL Ebsworth's Sydney insurance practice. Her key expertise is in life insurance and general insurance (property damage). Sylvia's practice also includes regulatory and compliance, liability and professional indemnity matters. She has a proven track record of providing high quality, practical and cost-effective legal services to insurers. Sylvia has assisted life insurers across a broad range of disputes and issues involving TPD, income protection, trauma and death benefits. Her experience includes advising on the procedural aspects and enforceability of determinations made by AFCA and assisting with complaint responses.
Stephen Walsh, Barrister, Sir James Martin Chambers
Stephen (not to be confused with his father, the mediator Stephen Walsh QC) is a barrister practicing at the NSW bar specializing in commercial, property, professional indemnity and life insurance matters. He was admitted to practice as a solicitor in 1993 and worked as a solicitor and then partner at a number of large insurance practices for 14 years, 10 of which were in London working for national UK defendant insurance firms. He moved to Sydney in 2005 and was admitted to the bar in 2007. He has appeared for most of the major life insurance companies in NSW and life insurance cases continue to comprise a substantial proportion of his practice.
Colin Purdy, Barrister, Edmund Barton Chambers
Colin has a long background in insurance law, firstly as a solicitor and, more recently, at the NSW Bar. Life insurance is a key area of his practice, particularly Total & Permanent Disablement (TPD) and Income Protection claims. TPD has been a growth area in recent years and he has appeared in many of the reported first instance and appellate decisions, eg Chapman v United Super, Erzurumlu v Kellogg, Hannover Life v Dargan, Maund v FSS Trustee and Hellessey v MetLife (trial and appeal). Colin also practices extensively in personal injury and common law as well as building and construction and commercial litigation.
Rebecca Kort, Associate, HWL Ebsworth
Rebecca Kort is an Associate in HWL Ebsworth’s Sydney Insurance Practice. Rebecca is experienced in various areas of insurance-related advice and litigation, including general insurance (public liability), life insurance and professional indemnity. She has provided practical advice to clients across jurisdictions including the District Court and Supreme Court of New South Wales. Her life insurance experience extends to advising life insurer clients on complex total disablement litigation matters, issues of potential misrepresentations and policy avoidance, and pre-litigation claims disputes. Her experience also extends to assisting insurer clients in relation to compliance inquiries and complaints processes internally and before AFCA, as well as providing guidance on general business and claims handling practices.
