Chris Rimmer
PartnerAbout Chris
Chris is an experienced insurance law practitioner with expertise in public and product liability, professional indemnity, workers' compensation and motor vehicle personal injury claims.
What he does
Chris provides advice on the management of public liability, professional indemnity, property, workers' compensation and motor vehicle personal injury claims. He regularly appears as counsel in the District Court, the Court of Appeal and the Conciliation and Arbitration Service.
Chris acts for a number of clients with significant retained deductibles on their liability policies and represents a number of London market syndicates in liability and property claims.
Who he works with
Chris works on liability, professional indemnity and property claims for Australian insurers and London-based syndicates and underwriters and motor vehicle personal injury claims for the Insurance Commission of Western Australia. Chris advises and acts on workers' compensation claims for a number of insurers and their insureds in Western Australia.
He also provides advice to the local insurance broking market on their clients' indemnity and insurance obligations in contracts and the extent to which the insurance program in place complies with the contractual obligations.
What his clients say
Listed: Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year” Award for Personal Injury Litigation – 2022
Listed: Best Lawyers in Australia (Insurance Law) - 2020 & 2019
Listed: Best Lawyers in Australia (Personal Injury Litigation) - 2020 (one of only two listed in WA)
Listed: Recommended Leading Public & Product Liability Lawyer (Defendant) WA - Doyle's Guide 2017
Listed: Leading Compulsory Third Party Insurance Lawyer (Defendant) WA - Doyle's Guide 2017
Qualifications
Chris has a law degree from the University of Western Australia. He is also a member of the Australian Insurance Law Association.
Life before Sparkes
Chris started his legal career as an article clerk with Jackson McDonald in 1995 and was admitted to their partnership in 2002. In 2003, Chris became a founding partner of Jarman McKenna—a boutique insurance law firm that merged with Sparke Helmore in March 2017.
Life outside of Sparkes
Chris is a keen cyclist and in March 2021 completed his 7th Hawaiian Ride for Youth from Albany to Perth (700 km), on this occasion riding through the south west region of Western Australia and stopping at various schools along the way to talk to students about mental health. The ride raises money for Youth Focus, an independent West Australian not-for-profit organisation working to stop youth suicide and helping young people aged 12 to 25 overcome issues associated with depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
Chris is also a board member of the WA branch of Variety – the Children’s Charity which helps kids up to the age of 18 faced with the challenge of sickness, disadvantage and special needs.
Off the bike, Chris enjoys spending time with his family, passionately following his beloved Fremantle Dockers and offsetting some of the kilometres ridden on his bike with some quality red wine.