Key team members: Deirdre Canavan, Ireland legal senior manager, and Derek Daly

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

In recent years Liberty invested heavily in technology with the implementation of our global digital ecosystem (GDE). This entailed the development from scratch of our own in-house digital online channel and customer portal for the direct purchase of insurance products. This project also involved an overhaul of our IT systems and platforms for our claims, underwriting and data analytics functions. The GDE was harmonised across three different legal jurisdictions into one consolidated Western European market of Spain, Portugal and Ireland. From a regulatory perspective, this involved intensive collaboration by the legal and compliance functions with the business, to ensure a fully compliant overhaul of the online purchase journey, the execution of new global supplier contracts, as well as a review and re-write of various policy documentation.

In February 2022, Liberty announced a strategic 20 year partnership with Bankinter. This transaction involved the creation of a brand-new insurance company structured as a joint venture between Liberty and Bankinter. The legal team were actively involved in negotiating and drafting eight different agreements spanning over 500 pages and in our application for regulatory approval of the new JV company (such approval still being currently awaited).

Liberty’s Irish legal team consistently advise and lead on all legal aspects of outsourcing projects in Ireland. These projects range from (i) a large scale transformation of print services into an e-service model, (ii) the outsourcing of certain claims administration services, (iii) the in-sourcing back in-house of our contact centre operations in Northern Ireland during Brexit, along with a temporary permissions regulatory regime, and (iv) the outsourcing of our Irish commercial fleet business via a managing general agency agreement.

The Ireland legal team also work with colleagues across WEM to assist with the consolidation of the WEM operating model, by leading on the execution of WEM supplier agreements, harmonisation of website content and company policies and procedures across four different legal jurisdictions.

Has the increasing consciousness of climate change and sustainability affected your company and the team’s priorities, and if so, how?

The Ireland legal team has significantly increased its consciousness of climate change and sustainability in recent years. We advise the Liberty WEM sustainability committee, and continue to promote ESG strategy and diversity, equity and inclusion in the Irish business. This involves for example, simple things like encouraging Liberty Insurance customers to go paperless and use the online portal. We also prioritise the continuance of the highest standards in corporate governance and accountability by maintaining a culture of compliance, ethics and transparency in everything that we do. Our legal team feels that it is important to serve as a force for social good.