The insurance sector has also been subject to discussing the effects of the ever-developing data protection laws and cyber insurance. This month, Philipp Strasse, an attorney specialising in insurance law speaks on how he has seen the legal world change, how he helps his clients through litigation and the developments in the insurance industry.
Can you tell LM about your involvement in insurance law since you began practising?
Since the very beginning of my professional life I have focused on dispute resolution, in particular in pertaining to insurance law, such as: corporate liability cases, banking and finance disputes, post M&A litigation and all kinds of coverage disputes. My emphasis on the insurance sector, and my expertise in representing the interests of local and international insurers in all kinds of insurance related issues, allows me to be a leader in a challenging and extremely complex niche market, both in Austria and internationally.
As such, I also supported the foundation of ARIAS Austria (branch of the AIDA Reinsurance and Insurance Litigation Society) in 2017.
In your insurance work, what are the matters you commonly deal with alongside your clients? How do you help them avoid litigation in this segment?
Over the years I have built a client base consisting of numerous national and international blue-chip insurers, including some of the biggest global players in the industry. Vavrovsky Heine Marth is one of the go-to firms in (re)insurance law and (re)insurance litigation in Austria.
My work specifically focuses on, inter alia, Financial Lines/Specialty Lines insurance (Directors & Officers, Professional Indemnity and Error & Omission, POSI, Warranty & Indemnity, Transactional Risk, etc), product and public liability as well as property and construction insurance.
A quick response policy, a service-oriented approach and absolute accuracy in the advice we provide, are attributes my clients highly appreciate. No matter whether we deal with CEOs or Claim Handlings Specialists, Vavrovsky Heine Marth aims for perfectly tailored, self-explanatory assessments and recommendations.
In regards to the insurance companies, we deliver services and advice, inter alia, with respect to insurance product development, insurance underwriting and insurance related regulatory issues.
To avoid costly disputes, in high-profile or high-risk cases, for example, we employ a sophisticated litigation-decision-tree-approach in order to accurately anticipate liability and coverage risks as well as to address any eventuality.
What insurance issues do you believe are still to develop further? How would you go about implementing these developments?
At the moment, data protection and cyber insurance are two of the evolving topics in the industry.
The D&O insurance market will also develop further as the awareness of members of Supervisory Boards of their – on a factual basis – steadily evolving liability risks is growing. As a fact, management liability disputes lately tend to address the question whether the corporate supervision of the management was sufficiently diligent.
For me personally it is very important to anticipate market developments and changes in the insurance industry. As a firm, our strong industry network coupled with my team’s profound legal specialisation and pertinent experience, Vavrovsky Heine Marth’s systematic approach to problem-solving and our desire to provide highest quality, one-stop service to our insurance industry clients allow us to see changes long before they take place.
As an expert leader in this field, how are you and the firm working towards these changes?
My professional commitment as well as my strong ties to the industry enable me to always stay abreast of current changes and developments – in the legal environment as well as the industry.
My team and I constantly participate in seminars, congresses and trainings in the most relevant legal areas. We keep a constant dialogue with other market participants. Most importantly, we maintain transparent communication with our clients to better understand their needs and anticipate future challenges.
Philipp Strasser
Vavrovsky Heine Marth
Fleischmarkt 1
1010 Vienna, Austria
T + 43 1 512 03 53
My name is Philipp Strasser. I am an attorney-at-law registered with the Austrian Bar Association and specialise on insurance law, corporate law and dispute resolution. When joining Vavrovsky Heine Marth in 2015 as an equity partner, I leveraged my long-lasting contacts in the international Insurance Industry to build up Vavrovsky Heine Marth’s Insurance Sector and Insurance Litigation Practice.
Vavrovsky Heine Marth is a commercial law firm with offices in Vienna and Salzburg. Our core international competencies are Dispute Resolution and Real Estate. Our DR practice focuses on insurance and reinsurance, corporate and commercial, capital markets and banking, competition and IP, real estate and construction related disputes.
Several renowned national and international legal directories have acknowledged our expertise by ranking Vavrovsky Heine Marth and all of its partners among the leading Austrian specialists in their fields.
