Geoff Turner
My expertise is in insurance claims litigation and policy drafting together with other civil litigation and alternative dispute resolution procedures.
My insurance practice has two distinct aspects, being traditional general and liability insurance, and niche commercial and financial instrument bonds.
The traditional aspects encompass complex arsons and frauds together with MD and BI claims, Broadform liability risks, professional negligence (lawyers, engineers and project managers), travel claims, fire defences and recoveries.
Allied to this aspect is policy drafting, particular one-off wordings for speciality risks, together with conversion of foreign wordings to be locally compliant.
My niche aspect encompasses commercial bonds covering a vast array of circumstances ranging through construction, insolvency of travel agents, deposit payments on buildings yet to be commenced, continuing solvency of companies against specific risks, builders warranty defects non-completion and loss of deposits.
My insurance practice is trans-Tasman, and I appear in two States of Australia as well as in New Zealand.
Recent highlights of my practice have included:
- Successful outcomes in two major multi-million dollar frauds.
- Being co-counsel in a landmark decision rejecting a s.9 type joinder of an insurer when the insured was insolvent.
- A high value complex arson.
- Presenting a nationwide seminar with investigators on insurance fraud red flags.
- Giving expert evidence in an insured solicitor's liability defence.
- Being presented with the ILO Insurance Lawyer for New Zealand 2016 at a ceremony in London in February 2016.
I have long been involved as the honorary solicitor for many community bodies including a rugby club, the LRCA Inc, the LRRRA Inc, KCOCA, the HRRA and a variety of other smaller but important local community groups.
Outside my insurance practice, sport is my passion and I have had a long involvement with both the prosecution of, and defence of athletes in both disciplinary matters and doping infractions.
