Reliability Test
A plunge in premiums and a resulting surge in the number of loss-making companies made 2009 the most difficult and unprofitable year for the Ukrainian insurance market to date. Oleksiy Didkovskiy, managing partner of Asters says: “Keen competition has distinctly defined market leaders, being largely foreign-held or controlled companies, which are expected to strengthen their positions further in the coming year. The past year was also marked by the regulator’s efforts to tighten control over insurers solvency and, in particular, tougher requirements of assets covering insurance reserves. The downward trend is anticipated to continue at least in the first six months of 2010, with certain hopes for a slight upturn towards the end of the year. Due to adverse economic conditions, next year is not likely to see any considerable M&A activity on the Ukrainian insurance market.”
Possessing significant expertise in domestic and international insurance and the re-insurance industry; transactional, regulatory and dispute resolution matters in the financial services sector, lawyers at Asters successfully represented parties in M&A in the insurance industry; financial institutions, insurers, and other corporate clients on a variety of domestic and cross-border financings, credit and on various types of capital market transactions. The team headed by Oleksiy Didkovskiy advised clients on all aspects of insurance regulatory matters, including licensing, investments, insolvencies, and has significant experience representing corporate clients in insurance-related matters.
The Kiev team of DLA Piper possesses great experience with regard to the insurance market — it took part in several significant transactions involving acquisition of insurance business in Ukraine, among them — representing a foreign investor buying the Kyivska Rus insurance company; advising the shareholders of Vesko insurance company on its sale to the French AXA S.A. insurance company and UkrSibBank, a Ukrainian subsidiary of BNP Paribas. At the same time, the firm worked on advising a well-known Swedish insurance company on indirect acquisition of a stake in two Ukrainian banks; advice on banking regulations in Ukraine, as well as advice on Ukrainian regulatory implication of acquisition, obtaining regulatory permits for the acquisition from the National Bank of Ukraine. Oleksandr Kurdydyk, partner, and Illya Muchnyk, senior associate, were named as key practitioners in the field of insurance.
ARIES law firm maintained its strong leading position in the insurance sphere. The major highlight of 2009 was the regress demands with insurance company AXA, which were handled by Oksana Doroshenko.
CMS Cameron McKenna in Kiev had a wide range of work on advising on insurance and re-insurance regulatory issues as well as transactional support with particular focus on cases with an international aspect. Adam Mycyk, managing partner and head of the corporate and M&A practice group, is acknow ledged in corporate insurance work. Recent experience included advising a large Western European financial group on its equity investment in a Ukrainian life insurance company; a Japanese insurance corporation with regard to marine transportation insurance in Ukraine; a global insurance provider on general regulation of admitted and non-admitted insurance/re-insurance in Ukraine. The team supported an Irish-based re-insurance company on execution of a re-insurance agreement with a Ukrainian insurer and a major German reinsurance company on the eligibility of a Russian-based reinsurance company providing re-insurance services to a Ukrainian insurer and a client with regard to insurance clauses in a franchising agreement. Vitaliy Radchenko is involved in corresponding projects.
During 2009 Spenser & Kauffmann law firm concentrated its practice on insurance dispute resolution. Recent experience includes representation of Alico AIG Life in courts within litigations under insurance claims and advising it regarding compliance of individual and collective Rules of Insurance with legislation and their registration with the State Commission on Financial Services Markets of Ukraine; Cardiff Insurance Company regarding compliance of the Rules of Insurance and Insurance Agreements to Ukrainian law and represented the client in court as to insurance claims. Partner Tetiana Daniltseva is an experienced practitioner.
In 2009 the leading experts of Vasil Kisil & Partners, partner Denis Lysenko and senior associate Yulia Kyrpa showed strong performance in the insurance field, having advised AXA PPP healthcare (UK) on a number of regulatory issues related to insurance and reinsurance activities in Ukraine, as well as representing a group of foreign investors on the acquisition of a shareholding in the Oranta National Joint-stock Insurance Company. The firm’s practitioners were also actively involved in developing insurance legislation, having advised the State Commission for Regulation of Financial Services Markets of Ukraine on the above issue.
The Kiev office of Salans is also gaining solid expertise of transactional work. In 2009 the team, as led by partners Natalia Selyakova and Ihor Mehedynyuk, advised Ukrainian insurance CJSC Dovira ta Garantiya, a member of the Russkiy Standart Group, regarding the increase of its statutory fund by an additional issue of shares in Ukraine. Lawyers from Salans banking and finance group in Ukraine have also advised this client on the development of standard insurance documentation and general corporate law matters in Ukraine.
Gvozdiy & Oberkovych advises insurance companies, financial advisers and corporate clients on a wide range of areas, including insurance policy drafting and review, coverage opinions and litigation, licensing and acquisition of insurance companies, other regulatory and compliance issues. It also provides tax advice to insurers and its team of professionals advised European Insurance Alliance on a permanent basis about a broad range of insurance and corporate law issues. Lawyers Oleg Tarasiuk and Maxim Lebedev are key specialists in handling insurance law.
The insurance practice of INTEGRITES law firm is strongly connected with the trade finance practice and a client’s overall international trade activity. In this relation INTEGRITES provided comprehensive support for big Ukrainian importers in the retail and automobile sectors in their dialogue with foreign export insurers from European and Asian countries. Alongside the insurance practice, INTEGRITES dealt with reinsurance in a broad range of spheres. The team represented several insuring companies operating in Ukrainian aviation and construction market with respect to obtaining re-insurance from global financial institutions. In 2009 the firm successfully completed a USD 10 million insurance deal between ONDD (Belgium) and Energomashspetsstal (Ukraine). Yulia Tandura and Yuriy Korchev are key experts in the firm’s insurance practice.
Olena Kibenko, senior partner, led the team of Kharkov-based ILF in helping to establish two insurance companies with foreign capital performing corporate and regulatory background. Another dimension is insurance litigation carried out by Olena Khytrova: representing the interests of a Ukrainian insurance company in a court dispute regarding an insurance indemnity suit.
The team of Paritet Law Firm, including Borys Danevych and Maksym Sysoiev, advised leading global pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies on various matters related to indemnity insurance in the course of R&D activity, including conducting clinical trials in Ukraine. Amongst others, Paritet advised Pfizer, Merck & Co. and Bayer Schering Pharma on insurance issues.
LCF Law Group protected the interests of several insurance companies in court disputes in matters of recovery of insurance money, re-insurance agreement debt recovery, recovery of moral damages and of insurance money according to an agreement and penalty as well as provided a legal maintenance of the settlement procedure of an insurance accident, namely the determination and concordance of an amount payable on settlement which remained due from a client. The firm’s key experts are Yuliana Maleeva and Yulia Bozhko.
The legal team of Deloitte provided a detailed legal, tax and financial due diligence report for a large European insurance group in respect of a medium-sized Ukrainian risk insurance company. The team also supported the client with legal structuring advice and drafted transaction documents. Ilya Soykis and Volodymyr Kutsenko are the legal practitioners of related projects.
Legal Alliance Company acted in litigation of recovery of an amount of insurance indemnity on the fact of complete destruction of property and in subsequent court cases: for recovery of insurance indemnity and in the action of an insurance company on invalidation of a resolution adopted by Boryspil District Administration. Oleksiy Bezhevets and Dmytro Tytarenko were engaged in cases.
LEXFOR assisted in court disputes on recovery of insurance payments. Partners Yuriy Semenyuk and Vladislav Shapoval supervise the activities of the corresponding practice.
Lexwell & Partners conducted the relationship in the area of insurance of risks in construction. Andrei Kolupaev and Alexander Shishlov are among practicing lawyers.
Oleksiy Ukolov of Legal Consulting Centre represented the interests of private clients in disputes with insurance companies. Dynasty law firm handled proceedings in recovery of insurance payments.