Global Risk Spotlight Series: Italy

In the third instalment of the ‘Spotlight on Global Risk’ series, Bill Evans sat down with Andrea Scafidi – D&O and financial line expert, Mauro Modica – P&C and policy wording expert, Alfredo Berritto – Marine & Shipping expert and Matteo Cerretti – Head of Insurance & Litigation at DWF Italy and Insurance Commercial Director EMEA at DWF to learn what makes their team such a capable insurance force.

Bill discovered that DWF Italy had been awarded Insurance Team of the Year in both 2022 and 2023 and that it has a thriving practice across insurance regulatory, policy wording and coverage in most lines of business including property and casualty, PI, financial lines, medical malpractice, life sciences, marine and shipping.

Matteo Cerretti, you've just won Insurance Lawyer of the Year at the Legal Community Italy Litigation Awards (September 2022) and Insurance Lawyer of the Year at the Top Legal Industry Awards (March 2023). That is an amazing achievement!

Thank you! I feel that it is a great honour and one that I could not have achieved without the support of the incredible Insurance & Litigation Team here in Milan. I was also ranked in Chambers 2023 for the sixth year running but was more excited to see that the Insurance Team was ranked this year too.

I am very proud that DWF's Insurance capability in Italy has been recognised repeatedly over the past 5 years. Winning the Legal Community Insurance Team of the Year in 2022 and 2023 just the latest recognition. This year, we leapt 36 positions in the Italian Top Legal Insurance Rankings which shows we are an emerging insurance force and well respected by our clients.

Can you tell us a little more about DWF Italy and in particular the Insurance & Litigation Team?

DWF Italy has been headquartered in the heart of Milan since 2017. We are a full service firm but have a dedicated Insurance & Litigation Team which consists of over 20 lawyers and deals with regulatory, policy coverage and policy wording enquiries as well as insurance disputes in a very wide range of lines of business.

We have been privileged to accept instructions from both insurers in Italy as well as numerous international insurers and reinsurers.

What else can you tell us about the work the DWF Italy Insurance & Litigation Team does for insurers?

Andrea Scafidi and Mauro Modica of DWF Italy have just led very significant D&O and Financial Lines and P&C disputes on behalf of insurer clients. These disputes exceed Euros 1 billion in value and it is an indication of DWF Italy's expertise in this area that we were instructed.

We have also been very lucky to work across lines of business. For example, we have recently accepted instructions in relation to the drafting of cyber policies as well as advising on life science policies.

Alfredo you have a real interest and expertise in marine claims?

Yes, before joining DWF in 2019, I spent over 10 years working at a boutique marine & shipping insurance firm in Italy. I have worked on some of the most well-known and high value marine claims in the region for both local and London Market insurers. My experience includes handling Hull and Cargo as well as P&I claims. Across the last few years I have developed expertise in fine art & specie claims as well.

Andrea, is DWF Italy distinct from its competitors?

We are a legal business not just a legal firm. For example, we are collaborating closely with DWF Claims and Adjusting Italy to provide 'connected services' to our clients. Our TPA and adjusting offering is going from strength to strength.

More generally, DWF can offer outstanding counter-fraud and data analytics products and we are working on introducing these to the Italian market.

Mauro, how do you see DWF Italy complimenting DWF’s broader presence in the region? Where are there opportunities to coordinate and collaborate?

DWF has a very impressive footprint in EMEA. We have offices with significant insurance expertise and capabilities in major markets such as France, Germany, Poland and Spain where our competitors struggle or have no presence at all. We also have formal associations with firms from Luxemburg, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, Turkey and South Africa. Each of these associations have outstanding insurance capabilities which allow a global reach.

Finally Matteo, why DWF? If you were a graduate looking to apply for a training contract or a client seeking to instruct a lawyer, why choose DWF?

These are very exciting times for DWF and the Global Risk team in particular. There have been some major acquisitions such as that of Whitelaw Twining in Canada. There have also been dynamic lateral hires and internal promotions of partners who want to collaborate across product lines to grow the business. All of this is client focused and with a view to encouraging our people to grow.

For more information or enquiries, please contact Bill Evans, Matteo Cerretti, Andrea Scafido, Mauro Modica and Alfredo Berritto

Related Authors

Bill Evans

Partner

Matteo Cerretti

Partner, Head of Insurance Italy, Insurance Commercial Director Europe

Andrea Scafidi

Partner

Mauro Modica

Counsel

Alfredo Berritto

Counsel

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Global Risk Spotlight Series: Italy