Erik Poorthuis is a Dutch lawyer, advising clients on a wide range of (re)insurance and liability matters, such as complex high value claims, insurance distribution, regulatory requirements/supervision, policy wording and transactions.

Erik is currently based at NautaDutilh's London office, where he is setting up and co-managing the firm's Benelux Insurance Desk. In this role, Erik focuses on advising clients about cross border insurance matters, involving the London Insurance Market and our Benelux home markets.

Recent experience includes:

• Representing a Dutch bank in mediation and arbitration proceedings, in a dispute against professional indemnity insurers, in relation to mass claims for the mis-selling of financial products.
• Representing a London market insurer in the first legal proceedings in the Netherlands about a parametric weather insurance policy.
• Drafting the wording of commercial insurance policies as well as risk transfer solutions such as captives and structured reinsurance.
• Defending Dutch insurers against mass claims, in which claimants alleged that insurers breached their duty of care, and other mis-selling issues.
• Acting alongside UK law firms in cross border insurance claims involving the London insurance market (Lloyds and company market).
• Advising UK insurers on the legal, regulatory and practical implications of Brexit, and their continuation of services in the Netherlands.
• Advising a major Dutch insurer on the legal and regulatory aspects of their acquisition of several insurers, brokers and service providers.

Erik joined the firm in 2011, after graduating from Leiden University in the same year. In addition to his qualification as a lawyer in the Netherlands, Erik is qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales. This dual qualification enables him to advise more effectively on cross border matters. 

Erik is an active member of the British Insurance Law Association (BILA), the Insurance Institute of London (IIL), Instech London, the IBA Insurance Committee, and the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL).

What others say

• Clients say "Erik Poorthuis provided excellent, speedy and responsive advice. Always available and understanding of the commercial context in which the advice on Dutch law was sought."(The Legal500, 2022).