Full Profile
Crystal Sanders is a Special Counsel in the Sydney office with extensive international insurance industry experience and Australian legal expertise developed through roles both in private practice and in-house. She advises general insurers, life insurers, private health insurers, reinsurers, brokers, intermediaries and other industry participants on navigating the ever-changing expectations of regulators and stakeholders across a range of prudential, governance and financial services regulatory matters. She acts for a diverse range of clients, from early stage start-ups to the world’s largest financial institutions. Crystal has a passion for delivering pragmatic and results-oriented solutions to the most complex and strategically important challenges faced by the insurance industry today.
Experience
Licensing and authorisation in Australia – Assisting locally incorporated and foreign branches of life companies and general insurers to establish operations in Australia, including obtaining APRA-authorisations and Australian financial services licences (/variations), amongst other regulatory approvals.
Insurance mergers & acquisitions – Acting for buyers and sellers of insurance portfolios transferred by way of Federal Court approved schemes under the Life Insurance Act and the Insurance Act, as well as negotiating the treatment of ancillary commercial arrangements.
Distribution – Assisting insurers and distributors to negotiate and execute white-labelled and intermediated insurance product offerings, often in conjunction with outsourced service providers.
Innovation – Assisting in the development of innovative insurance and alternative risk transfer solutions, including through the establishment of captives, issuance of catastrophe bonds and other insurance-linked securities and parametrics.
Governance – Advising general, life and private health insurers on matters of governance, including in respect of the application of prudential standards to groups, directors’ deeds of indemnity and insurance coverages, and in preparedness for the upcoming Financial Accountability Regime.
Reinsurance – Acting for insurers and reinsurers in the drafting and negotiation of reinsurance treaties and supporting collateral arrangements.
Regulatory compliance – Advising various insurers and industry participants on a range of regulatory compliance requirements, including in respect of executive accountability, product design and distribution obligations, unfair contract terms, the deferred sales model, and anti-hawking.
Regulatory investigations – Acting for insurers and other AFSL holders in respect of breach reporting, remediation programs, and regulatory enforcement matters.
