Ben Sanders
Ben.Sanders@kennedyslaw.com
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Profile
Ben is a partner in Kennedys’ Auckland office and has over 15 years’ experience in insurance and construction claims. He has acted for insurers and their insureds across a broad range of claims and coverage disputes.
Ben frequently acts on claims arising out of the construction industry. This includes acting for councils, engineers, geotechnical engineers, architects, quantity surveyors and other tradespeople in civil proceedings and in complaints made to disciplinary bodies (Licensed Building Practitioners Board; Engineering New Zealand; New Zealand Institute of Quantity Surveyors).
He has been involved in claims across a wide range of insurance policies. This includes general liability, material damage, business interruption, trade credit, political risk, and warranty and indemnity claims. He provides practical advice to insurers on complex indemnity issues and represents them in any resulting coverage disputes.
Ben has practiced in the New Zealand, Australian, and UK markets and been the NZ Claims Manager for an international insurer. He was also seconded to an international insurer to help run its response to the Canterbury earthquake claims, where he dealt with hundreds of material damage and business interruption claims.
Work highlights
- Successfully appeared as junior counsel in the Supreme Court (and Court of Appeal and High Court) in a strike out claim that settled the law on whether the Building Act longstop limitation defence applies to contribution claims.
- Acting for a council defending a novel duty of care claim from a tenant of a building that was damaged in the Kaikoura earthquake. Over $100M is sought.
- Defending insurers in a $25M coverage dispute before the High Court relating to a roading infrastructure dispute (a section of State Highway 1).
- Successfully acted in proceedings to the Supreme Court for the interpretation of a material damage policy. The decision is New Zealand’s leading case on the interpretation of insurance policies and other contracts.
- Construction professional indemnity claims – acts for architects, engineers and tradespeople in complex building disputes – from claims relating to garages to multi-level apartment buildings.
- Acting for the original engineering firm involved in a high profile claim relating to a new commercial building in Christchurch, which was completed but allegedly needs to be demolished and rebuilt. $20M sought.
Insurance and reinsurance
Construction and engineering