Berry van Wijk

Berry van Wijk

Advocaat | Partner

Contact

Berry van Wijk
Rotterdam
+31102172429
+31651845344
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Practice Areas

Financial Regulatory
Insurance and Reinsurance

Sectors

Financial Services
Insurance

Languages

Dutch
English

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Berry van Wijk is a financial regulatory expert and leads Houthoff's Financial Regulatory Team. The team advises the financial industry on all possible regulatory issues while Berry focuses on the insurance industry and financial service providers.

She assists her clients in their contact with the Dutch regulators, the Dutch Central Bank (DNB) and the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM), and in the implementation of regulatory legal requirements and development of new product and distribution channels. Berry also advises on the regulatory components of M&A transactions in the financial services industry.

  • Leading individual
    Legal 500, Insurance (2024 Edition)
  • Ranked in Tier 1
    Chambers Europe, Insurance (2023 Edition)
  • "A client mentions that Berry 'is outstanding in her field with respect to knowledge, business views and level of service'."
    Chambers Europe, Insurance (2023 Edition)
  • Leading individual
    Legal 500, Insurance (2023 Edition)
  • "A client says: 'Berry van Wijk has outstanding experience in the insurance industry. She is a very professional partner with a down to earth approach'."
    Legal 500, Insurance (2023 Edition)
  • Berry van Wijk is ranked in Tier 1.
    Chambers Europe, Insurance (2022 Edition)
  • “Clients hail Berry van Wijk as being ‘very experienced in the industry, with an outstanding knowledge of the applicable laws and legislation and of how companies operate’.”
     
    Chambers Europe, Insurance (2022 Edition)
  • Leading individual
    Legal 500, Insurance (2022 Edition)
  • “Berry van Wijk has a level of experience in insurance that she has built over years.”
    Legal 500, Insurance (2022 Edition)
  • “Berry van Wijk and Roel Theissen are very detail-oriented and that is what I am looking for in external lawyers.”
    Legal 500, Banking & Finance: Financial services Regulatory (2021 Edition)
  • “Berry van Wijk is described by one client as ‘an excellent lawyer,’ while another expands that she has ‘great oversight and is sensitive to strategic issues.’”
    Chambers Europe, Insurance (2021 Edition)
  • Berry van Wijk is ranked in Tier 1.
    Chambers Europe, Insurance (2021 Edition)
  • Leading individual
    Legal 500, Insurance (2021 Edition)
  • “Berry van Wijk is always available on short notice for us if necessary. Committed, well informed, looking for solutions fitting our organisation and very pleasant to work with.”
    Legal 500, Banking & Finance: Financial services Regulatory (2021 Edition)
  • Berry van Wijk is ranked in Tier 1.
    Chambers Europe, Insurance (2020 Edition)
  • “We also like her personality. She is a good listener, always honest, straightforward and really helps us with problems we face.’”
    Chambers Europe, Insurance (2020 Edition)
  • Leading individual
    Legal 500, Insurance (2020 Edition)
  • “Berry van Wijk is very good.”
    Legal 500, Insurance (2020 Edition)
  • “Berry van Wijk is always very clear and honest about the timetable and projection of costs if you discuss this with her beforehand. She has a lot of knowledge, not only of insurance law but also of the insurance industry and relates/applies that very well to our company and its needs. Furthermore, she has been a very pleasant sparring partner already for many years, not only in good times, but also when the going got tough.”
    Legal 500, Insurance (2020 Edition)
  • “Berry van Wijk combines great legal knowledge with a business mind, solution-focused, goes the extra mile to provide strategic advice that enhances the business.”
    Legal 500, Insurance (2020 Edition)
Her expertise further lies in unit-linked insurance; she currently represents Nationale Nederlanden in a class action.

She is a trusted adviser to board members and in-house counsel of several insurance companies. Berry is a daily board member of the Association for Insurance Sciences (Vereniging voor Verzekeringswetenschap) and president of the Advisory Committee on Insurance of the Dutch Bar Association (Orde van Advocaten). She is also a member of the Supervisory Board of the Albert Schweitzer hospital and of the Supervisory Board of Luxor Theatre Rotterdam. Berry is a member of Houthoff's Supervisory Board.

Berry is a lecturer on several post-academic programmes, such as the Insurance Law course (Leergang Verzekeringsrecht) at the Univerity of Amsterdam. She also lectures for theCo-Insurance course (Leergang Co-Assurantie) and the master's programme in Insurance Law at Erasmus University. She is a member of the editorial team of the online Tijdschrift Verzekeringsrecht, Aansprakelijkheid, Schade en Toezicht (VAST), formerly known as the Tijdschrift Aansprakelijkheids- en Verzekeringsrecht in de Praktijk (TAV).

Qualifications & Experience

  • Leading Professional Service Firms (Harvard Business School)
  • Personal Injury specilization course (Grotius Academy)
  • Law (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
  • Highlighted Matters
    Assisted Dutch insurer De Goudse in its proposed acquisition of a 35% stake in glass insurer Midglas. Midglas is market leader in this niche market. A part of the proposed acquisition is also a 35% stake in De Glaslijn, a facility service provider.
  • Highlighted Matters
    Assisted IK Investment Partners in the acquisition of a majority stake in You Sure Investments B.V.
  • Highlighted Matters
    Advised ASR Nederland N.V. (a.s.r.) on the acquisition of a 50% interest from Brand New Day in Brand New Day Premiepensioeninstelling N.V. (BND PPI) and the sale of a.s.r.'s 10% interest in Brand New Day Houdstermaatschappij N.V. for a total amount of EUR 51 million.
  • Highlighted Matters
    Advised a.s.r., a large Dutch insurance company, on the acquisition of VvAA Levensverzekeringen, the life insurance business of VvAA Groep. The life insurance portfolio comprises approximately 18,000 policies. The annual premium income is EUR 28m, and the technical provisions amount to EUR 430m. In addition to a multi-year life insurance partnership, VvAA and a.s.r. also intend to further expand the services to VvAA members.

Publications

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van Wijk, Berry