Ristretto #Finance
MAY 2021
10
“Look at insurance law from a broader perspective” Diego Manzetti, a lawyer with a large American non-life insurer, talks about co-founding the Luxembourg chapter of the International Insurance Law Association (Aida) last year. What brought you to Luxembourg? I’m from Italy. I moved to Luxembourg in 2018, when my employer moved its European headquarters to Luxembourg as a consequence of Brexit.
developed, in terms of the attention that the regulators have on how companies deal with the pandemic, also in terms of coverage... Companies with their headquarters in Luxembourg, but with offices in other countries, have to make sure that they are keeping very good knowledge of the different requirements that have been introduced in all the different countries. Because if a company operates, let’s say, in 10 markets, but with a headquarters in Luxembourg, then, of course, you need to be aware [of 10 sets of local rules] and there’s a lot of coordination to be done in relation to what rules apply to your employees, what rules apply to the policies you sell in those countries.
Were you already active in Aida? Yes, I was involved in [the regional committee for] Aida Europe… and when I moved to Luxembourg, I thought it would be good to be involved in the Aida Luxembourg chapter, when I realised that actually, there wasn’t an Aida chapter in Luxembourg. Although it’s interesting to know that Aida was actually founded in Luxembourg originally... it was 1960 when Aida International was founded in Luxembourg, but then with the years, the organisation left the country. What does Aida try to accomplish? It’s a community that not only includes lawyers that work for [insurers], but it brings together different professionals that are interested in insurance law, coming from companies, but also law firms, the regulators, universities… so it is a place where we can look at insurance law from a broader perspective.
Are national rules sometimes contradictory? Most of the rules come from European legislation, so they remain in a way more or less aligned, outside of covid, of course. But when you need to coordinate with many different countries, with employees based in different jurisdictions, even a slight change in one rule from one country to another may have a real impact on you, because you cannot apply a consistent approach to solving a problem. We need to [create documentation] country by country, which requires increased cost. That may be seen as not material, but when you really have to deal with a large number of employees, a large number of countries, there’s an impact, and that’s where I think, as Aida, we can bring value. Because we can speak with the different players that have different experiences. We are connected with our colleagues at Aida around Europe, and so we can get their expertise.
How did you get things off the ground here? Aida Luxembourg was formally accepted within the Aida community at the end of 2020... we found the good partner in Luxembourg to start our activities in the ALJB. That is the association of banking lawyers. So Aida has been formed within ALJB, to start with. Membership of Aida Luxembourg comes together with membership of the ALJB. And we are working together because we believe that there are a lot of common interests between the banking and insurance sectors, and there are a lot of commonalities. And therefore, we created this, let’s say, a sort of joint venture and we started this adventure together. How has the pandemic changed the sector? [Covid] changed the way we work, in terms of the work from home environment that before was less
Diego Manzetti, president of Aida Luxembourg, previously lived in Italy and the US
AIDA Luxembourg
Interview AARON GRUNWALD Photo ROMAIN GAMBA