Suzanne Booyens

Full Profile

Suzanne, a South African qualified Attorney and Notary, has local and international experience in property and assets insurance claims.  Suzanne recently returned to South Africa from London. 

She completed her Master's Degree in the specialisation of Insurance Law in 2023 with merit and during her studies gained a keen interest in international disputes and reinsurance law. 

Her practice is mainly assisting insurers with coverage disputes in the property and assets sphere, however she has experience in construction disputes, drafting of policy wording and recovery actions. 

Experience

• Assisting with investigating and advising UK insurers on whether the “forcible and violent entry” exclusion applied in a theft claim.
• Recovery action for damages resulting from fire to locomotive 
• Assisting with advice to a UK insurer on the prospects of a recovery against contractors following a fire to its insured locomotive in Rotterdam.
• Assisting with advice a UK insurer on whether the proportionate reduction remedy in terms of the UK Insurance Act, 2015 could be applied.
• Policy interpretation – assisting a South African insurer with a reinsurance agreement dispute on whether Covid fell within its “events cancellation” clause.
• Brokers negligence – assisted in a matter wherein the Western Cape High Court ruled that the broker was negligent as it did not advise the insured regarding the proper quantification of the insured value of a commercial property.
• Domestic property damage – assisting a South African insurer with a recovery against a local municipality due to its failure to properly document a main waterline under the insured’s residential property.
• Recovery on disclaimer notices – successfully assisted a South African insurer in the Pretoria High Court where the insured vehicle was stolen from a workshop where it was left for repairs. The third party relied on its disclaimer notices as a defense.