Philip is an experienced corporate insurance and financial services lawyer. He leads the firm’s corporate insurance practice.
Philip helps clients do business by advising them on commercial solutions to insurance issues that are effective, clear and easy to understand.
He acts for a range of clients including general and life insurers, reinsurers, insurance intermediaries and financial institutions as well as general corporate and government clients.
Prior to joining Hall & Wilcox, Philip gained experience in top tier private practice in Australia and began his career in the London insurance market.
‘I highly recommend Philip Hopley. He is excellent as a specialist lawyer and has an incredible way of making complex concepts palatable to the business to understand. He can articulate clearly the commercial impacts on the business and is very considerate and courteous to everyone.’
Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2024 guide.
Experience
Philip’s experience includes advising on:
- Financial services regulation, licensing and prudential compliance matters for general and life insurance and reinsurance. This includes all of the legislative reforms affecting the insurance sector introduced in 2021.
- Distribution arrangements and distribution model management for carriers and distributors.
- Scheme transfers of life and general insurance business.
- Acquisitions and divestments of insurance and financial advice businesses.
- New and amending product design for life and general insurance on an individual and group basis.
- Liaising with the conduct and prudential regulators, ASIC and APRA, in relation to regulatory approval and relief applications, breach reporting, investigation, enforcement and remediation work.
- Reinsurance advice and policy drafting, including benchmarking and value-in-force quota share arrangements.
- Insurance benchmarking and placement advice for commercial insureds.
- Warranty and Indemnity (W&I) insurance.
Awards and Recognition
Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year Awards 2024
Finalist | Insurance Partner of the Year and New Partner of the Year (Big Law – 3 years or less)
Best Lawyers in Australia 2021-2024
Insurance Law
Best Lawyers in Australia
2021 - 2024 | Insurance Law
2022 | Rising Star - Insurance Law
Memberships
- Member, Australian Insurance Law Association