Business urged to respond to rise in litigation by employees in Spain

The audience was told that litigation practices that are commonplace in countries like the US and the United Kingdom are becoming more common in Spain too. “It seems that we are beginning to bring home this litigation culture in a very intense way,” said Sergio Muñoz Rojas, Head of Financial Lines at Willis in Spain. As a result, he remarked, risk managers should consider the purchase of Employment Practice Liability (EPL) coverages as a standalone product to increase the protection of their companies against potentially onerous lawsuits. He noted that cases of harassment, discrimination by race, gender or age and unfair dismissal are being reported more often in the country, and that many companies are not properly covered by their insurance. “We are seeing such cases with increasing frequency, with significant indemnifications being awarded to employees, sometimes reaching more than €1m,” Mr Muñoz said. Currently EPL insurance is mostly purchased only as an additional coverage in D&O policies, but in such cases only directors are protected against lawsuits by current or former employees and not the business.hideFor D&O cover, Mr Muñoz stated the Spanish market still enjoys a soft outlook but with some notable exceptions, the most stark being the banking sector, which is going through a dramatic restructuring process. The authorities have already investigated some entities and it is expected that share and bondholders will take a growing number of complaints to the courts. “Brokers are suffering as we try to place D&O coverage for our clients in the banking sector,” Mr Muñoz said. In the cases where policies are still purchased, clients face sharp price increases. Construction companies and property developers, other sectors widely blamed for Spain’s economic woes, face a similar situation. Companies going into administration or with poor balance sheets, not a rare occurrence in a sluggish economy, can also struggle to place their D&O risks. Risk managers at the seminar also raised some issues concerning D&O insurance. Daniel San Milán, the chairman of IGREA, noted that, in a booming economy, insurance companies were quick to raise premiums as companies expanded via acquisitions in Spain and abroad. Now that many are selling parts of their assets as the downturn hits the subsequent discounts offered by the insurers have been derisory, he said. Insurance buyers from some of the largest companies in Spain that came together for IGREA’s renewals day dealt with issues that reflected the growing internationalisation of their activities. Trends in the US and Latin America markets, where many Spanish buyers are dedicating a great deal of effort, were among the most pressing subjects discussed. Jeffrey Sirr, the Chief Client Officer at Munich Re, painted a mixed picture of the property reinsurance market in the US. He said competitive pricing still prevails for domestic, non-catastrophic lines, but there is a hardening of the market for non-complex risks exposed to catastrophes, although capacity remains available. For global, complex catastrophic risks the market has reached a turning point because of the recent natural hazard events in places like Japan and Thailand, Mr Sirr said. He also noted that reinsurance in the Caribbean region is set for a 10-15% rate increase, but that the situation is different in South America. Rates in Chile still suffer some repercussions from the earthquake that hit the country last year, but Peru and Colombia have competitive markets and plenty of capacity available. If concerns linger about Argentina, after the recent implementation of protectionist reinsurance legislation, in Brazil the competition among reinsurers is fierce. Speakers from the risk transfer industry stressed for instance that it is not at all easy for them to grab a contract in the Brazilian market today. “We have an office in Brazil but we write very little business there,” said Luis Prato, a senior underwriter at Catlin. Mr Muñoz also warned companies that have operations in the US about the new reporting requirements for cyber-risks that have been implemented by the American authorities. The tough new rules apply not only to firms directly listed in American stock exchanges, but also to those that trade American Depository Receipts, ADRs, in public markets. This is another area where developments in the US are increasing the awareness of risks in Europe, Mr Muñoz said. “Three years ago, nobody knew about cyber-risks in Spain, it sounded like science fiction to many people,” he remarked. “But now they are on the rise here too.” Mr Muñoz stressed that capacity in the Spanish market to allow the transfer of cyber risk is growing, but it still does not mean that buyers will find the coverage that they really want. In general, he said, there is a lack of standardisation in Spain when providing cover for cyber risks.

Business urged to respond to rise in litigation by employees in Spain

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