Insurance

Our insurance team offers extensive experience and expertise in motor vehicle law and Compulsory Third Party (CTP) matters. We act on behalf of a number of motor vehicle and CTP insurers.

Our team’s expertise includes:

• litigation involving complex questions of liability, quantum and indemnity, including those claims involving unidentified vehicles
• defending claims involving fraud
• common law claims management, as our core business, including advocacy in the ADR process
• recovery actions for both personal injury and property damage
• demurrage claims for loss of the use of a vehicle or equipment.

Cooper Grace Ward has a large team of insurance specialists whose work is significantly focused in the area of self-insurance. We act for several large self-insured clients in the retail, aged care and local government industries and have further self-insurance experience in the areas of health, banking and manufacturing.

Our team routinely advises and represents self-insured clients in relation to the workers’ compensation areas of:

• entitlement issues, including investigation of, and preparation of Reasons for Decision in pure psychological injury claims
• preparation of submissions to the Regulator, in applications for review
• QIRC, Industrial Magistrate Court and Industrial Court appeals
• claims involving fraud, multiple party (PIPA) claims, and contractual indemnity issues
• common law claims management, as our core business, including advocacy in the ADR process
• litigated claims, including Queensland Court of Appeal and High Court appeals.

Cooper Grace Ward also has a wealth of expertise in public liability claims, including public liability claims for a major self-insurer, and for a leading Queensland insurer.

Our life and disability insurance group provides litigation and advice services to a large number of life insurers and superannuation trustees relating to life, trauma, income protection and total and permanent disability products.

We have extensive knowledge and understanding of claims, underwriting and product issues and developments within the industry.

Our expertise includes:

• fraudulent claims
• fraudulent and non-fraudulent misrepresentation and non-disclosure
• disputes relating to assessment of disability and disability income
• policy interpretation
• advice on claims management
• regulatory issues
• adviser disputes
• appeals from the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal to the Federal Court.

We currently act for a number of general insurers who operate both in the local and global markets. We have also acted for self-insured entities including major supermarket retailers in defending public liability personal injury claims.

General insurance claims often overlap with claims involving the application of motor vehicle law and workers’ compensation law. We have experts in the fields of motor vehicle law and workers’ compensation law, who provide advice and support to our general insurance team to ensure that rights are not prejudiced.

Our expertise includes:

• claims management
• litigation services involving a wide variety of entities and industries
• policy interpretation and drafting
• advising on policy, indemnity and subrogation issues
• conducting subrogated recovery actions
• representing clients at coronial inquiries
• submissions to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Fraud is costly to the insurance industry and is seen in all claim types. Our team is alert to the possibility of fraud when defending claims and the typical indicators of fraud. Our team has successfully applied for suppression orders in numerous cases based on there being a reasonable suspicion of fraud.