On April 22, 2016, the Superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services ("DFS") commenced a liquidation proceeding for Health Republic Insurance of New York ("HRINY") by filing an Order to Show Cause and Verified Petition in the Supreme Court of the State of New York. HRINY has consented to the liquidation.
Despite the initial glee of the prospect of a United States that was independent of Middle East oil, beginning in the fourth quarter of 2014, the price of oil started dropping precipitously. As noted in a recent article, over 80 bankruptcies in the oil industry were filed in 2015, up 471 % over calendar year 2014.
On April 6, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) rescinded Financial Institution Letter (FIL) 50-2009 entitled “Enhanced Supervisory Procedures for Newly Insured FDIC-Supervised Depository Institutions.” The FIL, among other measures, had extended the de novo period for newly organized, state nonmember institutions from three to seven years for examinations, capital maintenance and other requirements.
In various posts, the latest of which was September 2, 2015, Reinsurance Focus has covered developments in the liquidation of The Home Insurance Company.
The scenario: You have been injured and PretendCorp is liable to you in the amount of $100,000. PretendCorp has a commercial general liability insurance policy (“CGL”), which covers your claim. The CGL has a $20,000 self-insured retention (“SIR”) clause that states that PretendCorp is to directly pay you before the insurance company is liable for the remaining amount of the claim. PretendCorp files for federal bankruptcy protection and, as a result, is not required to pay the SIR. Is the insurance company still liable for your claim?
Executive Summary
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has established March 31, 2016, as the Claims Bar Date in the Reliance Insurance Company Liquidation. Policyholders and claimants may think that if they file a claim on March 31, 2016, the claim will be deemed timely filed. They would be wrong.
March 30 Is the Key Date
On February 17, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) approved a proposal for recordkeeping requirements for FDIC-insured institutions with a large number of deposit accounts to facilitate rapid payment of insured deposits to customers if those institutions were to fail. The proposed rule would apply to insured depository institutions with more than 2 million deposit accounts. Under the proposal, these institutions would generally be required to maintain complete and accurate data on each depositor.
On February 17, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a joint rule that would govern the resolution of large broker-dealers that are designated as “covered financial companies” under the Orderly Liquidation Authority (OLA) provisions (Title II) of the Dodd-Frank Act.
(Bankr. W.D. Ky. Feb. 16, 2016)
The court overseeing the liquidation of Reliance Insurance Company, one of the largest insurance liquidations in history, has approved the liquidator’s request for a final claims bar date of March 31, 2016. Reliance’s current payment percentage is 65%, so any insured with a significant coverage claim against Reliance should ensure that it files a proof of claim and provides the requisite supporting information by the bar date. If your company needs assistance in determining whether you have a valid claim against Reliance or in filing and documenting a claim, our firm can help.