Team size: 25

Focus on: The role of AIA Australia legal

Recognised as a genuine business partner, AIA legal has taken a lead role in many strategic initiatives over 2021. Highlights include completion in April 2021 of the $2 billion+ acquisition of Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s life insurance business in Australia (CommInsure), together with a 25-year strategic bancassurance partnership. This transaction saw AIA Legal involved in a complex structuring of a unique interim joint cooperation arrangement, enabling AIA Australia to manage the CommInsure business pending regulatory and court approval of a statutory transfer of CommInsure’s business and assets to AIA Australia. The team is now supporting efforts to restructure AIA Australia’s business following the acquisition.

AIA financial wellbeing, a new financial advice business of AIA Australia was also launched in December 2021. AIA legal supported the launch within highly ambitious timelines of under six months and at a time of significant regulatory change for financial advice business in Australia. AIA legal has been successful in resolving an appeal in the Federal Court focused on the operation of Section 54 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 and whether it can relieve restrictions inherent in the customer’s claim under the relevant Policy.

AIA legal achieved an approximate 40 percent reduction in the number of litigated proceedings currently on foot against AIA Australia. This has led to a decrease in legal expenses generally for the business. With respect to a class action in relation to advised products, our team had success in an interlocutory judgment that required the applicants who purchased through their superannuation funds to provide an undertaking to replenish the trust fund with any monies recovered. We were also successful in narrowing the class definition and resisting the applicants’ attempts for broad, ‘standard’ discovery.

We negotiated and finalised new partnerships with AV Super and Hannover Life Re, increasing AIA Australia’s reach in the group insurance market. While also as securing renewals at tender with existing key partners such as Colonial First State and Netwealth, we were able to leverage AIA Australia’s ability to support members of these partners through underwriting and claim journeys while limiting the impact on members’ retirement savings.

AIA Legal guided AIA Australia through an unprecedented volume of regulatory changes following the Financial Services Royal Commission. These included updated anti-hawking rules, the enhanced Breach Reporting regime, the Design and Distribution Obligations, Claims Handling as a Financial Service and Unfair Contract Terms. AIA Legal advocated and obtained clarity from ASIC for the relevant Regulatory Guides and proactively implemented changes, including adopting a pragmatic approach to managing regulatory risk, streamlined breach reporting assessment and management processes, and on-boarding of additional staff across identified teams.