DISTRIBUTION & MEDIATION

Insurance product distribution by businesses, trade associations and all forms of organisation has become common practice. After first applying to personal insurance alone (health & personal risks), regulations have been reinforced in all areas of insurance and this ongoing development demands specific legal and contractual expertise, often at the crossroads of insurance and consumer law.

• Rapid development of online intermediaries (price comparison sites, “broker robots”, etc.), 59 Insurtech companies founded in 2018
• EU law: IMD 1 (2002), IMD 2 (2015)
• Creation of ORIAS, the French body responsible for holding and maintaining the single register of financial intermediaries, in 2007
• Creation of the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority ACPR in January 2010, Banking Commission and ACAM merger
• Anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML-CFT)

Enthemis therefore focuses on the following areas:

• Advisory services in regulatory and compliance matters (IMD 2, GDPR, etc.)
• New brokers (B2C, ancillary insurance distributors)
• ACPR litigation

FINANCIAL LINES & PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY

Under the influence of consumer law and common law, the liability of finance professionals and all regulated and non-regulated advisory professions has increased: legal expertise in drafting their French and international policies has become an essential requirement.

• Liability insurance contracts are governed by principles other than liability law, hence the frequent gaps with companies’ and their executives’ liability cover
• These differences are very clear in the event of a business sale / split – Liability insurance contracts are governed by domestic law, which varies considerably from one country to another in insurance law
• This can result in considerable gaps in coverage, often inadequately assessed by vendors, guarantors and buyers

Enthemis has long-standing, regular and specialised experience in these issues, both in France and internationally.

RISK & INSURANCE LEGAL AUDIT

Many players, including private equity funds, risk managers, CFOs and purchasing directors, require analyses of insurance contracts and coverage by an independent contract lawyer, receiving no payment from insurers.

• Insurance is seldom audited in depth during due diligence in an M&A transaction
• Yet it is an important source of value for the buyer (contract renegotiation)
• Insurance contract-related risks are an integral part of the legal risk of a deal
• However, assessing this risk requires good knowledge of the insurance sector and insurance law and practices

Enthemis performs this audit, and the “business” audit of insurance players such as distributors, service providers and insurers, etc.