Insolvency, Restructuring and Run-Off

Subscribe to Insolvency, Restructuring and Run-Off via RSS
The New Hampshire Supreme Court will hear oral argument on April 30, 2008, in In the matter of the Liquidation of The Home Ins. Co., No. 2007-0794, N.H.), to consider whether the Superior Court erred in ruling that the a setoff claimed by Century Indemnity Company (“CIC”) lacked the mutuality necessary to trigger setoff under the New Hampshire Insurers Rehabilitation and Liquidation Act (the “Liquidation Act”). 

…
Read More New Hampshire Supreme Court Considers Offset Issue in the Home Insurance Company Liquidation

In the UK, insurance business transfer schemes (known as Part  7 transfers) allow an insurer or reinsurer to transfer portfolios of insurance or reinsurance business from another entity by way of a court sanctioned regulatory mechanism.  

…
Read More HM Treasury Publishes Responses Regarding its Part 7 Scheme Consultation

In a closely-watched case stemming from the demise of the Australian HIH insurance group,  the UK House of Lords has ruled in McGrath & Anor & Others v Riddell and Others [2008] UKHL 21 that the English assets of four companies in that group, which are in liquidation in Australia and in ancillary insolvency proceedings in England, must be remitted to Australia for distribution under Australian insolvency law. 

…
Read More UK House of Lords’ Ruling Assists Foreign Liquidators

A recent report by Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”) noted that the number of U.S. insurers placed under regulatory supervision in 2007 was the lowest in a decade.  The report attributes a decrease in insolvencies among property casualty insurers to, among other things, a mild hurricane season combined with better underwriting and an improved premium rate environment. …
Read More Insurance Insolvencies in the United States Reach a 10-Year Low

In an important recent decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, testing the outer reaches of a bankruptcy court’s jurisdiction, In re Johns Manville Corp., 06-2099 (2d Cir. Feb. 15, 2008), the court considered whether claims that are not derivative of a debtor’s liability, but rather seek to recover directly from an insurer for its own alleged misconduct, can be enjoined by the “channeling” mechanism developed by the bankruptcy court. 

…
Read More Second Circuit Rules Bankruptcy Court Cannot Enjoin All Claims Against Insurer

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania recently ruled that a non-signatory insured was obligated to arbitrate her claims against a reinsurer pursuant to the reinsurance contract’s arbitration provision, finding that the insured was a third-party beneficiary of that contract. 

…
Read More Non-Signatory Compelled to Arbitrate Claims Against Reinsurer

On 7 January 2008 the European Commission made public a report it had commissioned on Insurance Guarantee Schemes (IGS) in the European Union. IGSs provide last-resort protection for policyholders in situations where insurers are unable to provide cover, usually due to their insolvency. They are commonly financed from levies on the insurance industry. …
Read More Report Published on Insurance Guarantee Schemes in the European Union

Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has announced that it has settled its differences with Universal Health Care Insurance Company (UHCIC) through a consent order.  UHCIC had previously commenced numerous court actions to fend off receivership proceedings. 

…
Read More Florida Regulators Reach Settlement with Universal Health Care Insurance Company

In Midwest Employers Cas. Co. v. Legion Ins. Co. (In Liquidation), No. 4:07CV870 CDP (E.D. Mo. Nov. 7, 2007), Midwest Employers Casualty Company (“MECC”) sought a declaration that the demand for arbitration from Legion Insurance Company under forty-three reinsurance contracts that did not contain arbitration clauses was null and void. …
Read More Missouri District Court Rules That Suit Against Insurer in Liquidation Can Proceed in Federal Court

In a matter of first impression under New Jersey law that potentially impacts both the reinsurance and insurance industry and policyholders of insolvent insurance companies, the New Jersey Supreme Court affirmed the appellate division’s ruling that the Fourth Amended Final Dividend Plan (the “FDP”) proposed by the Liquidator for Integrity Insurance Company (“Integrity”) should not be approved because it unlawfully allowed incurred but not reported (“IBNR”) claims to share in the insolvent insurer’s estate. …
Read More Landmark Victory For Reinsurers of Insolvent Integrity Insurance Company