Dr. Tanja Schramm

Full Profile

Tanja has more than 13 years of experience as an insurance lawyer and acts for German and foreign insurers and reinsurers in most areas of insurance and reinsurance law. Her experience includes acting as monitoring, defense and coverage counsel in large and complex (international) insurance cases as well as litigation and dispute resolution work.

Tanja particularly advises on financial and professional lines (E&O, D&O, FI, PI), fidelity insurance, specialty risks, subrogated recovery matters and multi-jurisdictional issues. Tanja has extensive experience in the monitoring of E&O mass claims. Furthermore, she has acted in a number of claims involving directors & officers and financial institutions as well as in several coverage lawsuits with fundamental legal importance. She also acts as defense counsel in court proceedings against professionals and directors. Further, her practice includes drafting and adapting insurance policies to German law.

Over the years, Tanja has undertaken secondments with an insurer in Germany and a reinsurer in London.

Tanja is recognized as a leading lawyer for insurance by Chambers Europe and JUVE, being praised by clients as “pragmatic and solutions-oriented” (JUVE Handbook, 2024). She is recommended for both insurance law and litigation by Best Lawyers. 

Chambers Europe 2024 has recognized her as a notable practitioner for insurance in Germany, with sources commenting that she “has demonstrated excellent expertise in her field and a pragmatic approach to handling legal matters.”

In 2023 and 2022, she has been awarded a “Top Lawyer” for lnsurance law by WirtschaftsWoche. Furthermore, Tanja has been awarded a “Legal All Star 2023” by WirtschaftsWoche, making her one of only three top lawyers for insurance law in Germany. Tanja has also been recognized by Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Expert Guides in the area of insurance and reinsurance.

Education

• Educated at the Humboldt University Berlin
• Dissertation on the claims made-principle under German law with Professor Dr. Armbrüster, Free University Berlin

Memberships

•  German Association for Insurance Studies (DVfVW)

Experience

• Acting as monitoring counsel with regard to thousands of investors’ claims concerning closed-end funds
• Acting as monitoring counsel in numerous large and complex D&O claims against directors of banks (e.g. ApoBank)
• Acting for insurers in connection with numerous D&O claims brought by insolvency administrators
• Advising insurer in a multi-million euro fidelity insurance claim
• Representing insurers in numerous coverage disputes, for example regarding legal issues in connection with the claims made-principle, the avoidance of insurance contracts due to fraudulent misrepresentation and denials of coverage due to intentional breaches of duties
• Advising on complex coverage issues, e.g. distribution procedure according to Sec. 109 German Insurance Contract Act
• Acting as defense counsel in a professional liability dispute against an international law firm
• Advising on German international private law in connection with international liability claims