Allens Arthur Robinson

John Morgan

John has a wide-ranging practice in the insurance and funds management industries, advising on corporate, structural and regulatory issues and product development.

John's practice in relation to insurance ranges over general insurance, life insurance, private health insurance, reinsurance, captives and the operation of compulsory insurance schemes within Australia including, workers compensation, motor accidents and home warranty.

He advises the Insurance Council and has acted for the industry on a number of major issues for general insurers including: the development of the NSW and Queensland compulsory third party schemes; the operation of workers compensation schemes in Australia; the General Insurance Code of Practice; tort reform; the insurance response to terrorism; the proposed amendments to the Insurance Contracts Act; and the prudential regulation of insurers by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, including the regulation of lenders, mortgage insurance and the recent regulation of direct offshore foreign insurers and discretionary mutual funds.

He acted on behalf of the industry and industry members in relation to negotiations with the Treasury and the Australian Taxation Office regarding the introduction and implementation of the goods and services tax and related tax reforms.

John has represented insurers and brokers in relation to competition and consumer issues and advised extensively on the operation of financial services regulation under the Corporations Act. He has advised a number of large corporations on their directors and officers liability insurances.

He has recently advised on the demutualisation and merger of MBF with BUPA to form one of the largest private health insurers in Australia.

His principal areas of interest are the regulation of the insurance and reinsurance industry, the impact of that regulation on insurers and the acquirers of their products, and corporate activities including portfolio transfers, mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, demutualisations and the like.

John’s funds management expertise lies in product development and his specialised knowledge of trust law and superannuation. He is a past chair of the Law Council Superannuation Committee.

He teaches a Master of Laws course in insurance regulation at the University of Melbourne and a Masters course on Corporate Governance at the University of New South Wales.