The Insurance Corporation of Singapore (UK) Limited

Date of Insolvency:

Provisional Liquidation – 14 October 1993
Reserving Scheme – 25 January 2002
Closure Scheme – 12 October 2010

Type of Appointment:

Scheme of Arrangement

Appointment Holders:

Mark Batten
Nigel Rackham

Key Contacts:

The Official Receiver
The Insolvency Service
4 Abbey Orchard Street
London SW1P 2HT
+44 (0) 207 637 1110

Nigel Rackham
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
7 More London
Riverside
London SE1 2RT
+44 (0) 207 212 6270

Company Background:

The Insurance Corporation of Singapore (UK) Limited (“ICS (UK)”) commenced underwriting in 1980 as a member of various pools, notably the three English & America (“E&A”) pools in which it participated until 1991. The pools continued to underwrite risks until the end of 1992 and subsequently entered into run-off. Joint Provisional Liquidators were appointed in respect of ICS (UK) in 1993 when the company’s solvency became questionable, leaving fellow E&A pool members as the principal creditors. After investigating a number of alternatives, the Joint Provisional Liquidators concluded that a Scheme of Arrangement (“Scheme”) was the best means of delivering value to ICS (UK)’s creditors. The original ICS (UK) Reserving Scheme became effective on 25 January 2002.

In 2010, ICS (UK), together with fifteen other members of the E&A pools, elected to implement a collective Closure Scheme in order to bring about a unified exit from the E&A pools. The Closure Scheme became effective for ICS (UK) and fifteen other members of the pool on 12 October 2010.

ICS (UK)’s creditors were categorised as follows:

Oberon Pool Creditors – Creditors with claims arising as a result of ICS (UK) having participated as an underwriter in the Oberon Pool. Oberon Pool Creditors will be paid in full by St Paul Re in the normal course.

E&A Pool Participants – The eight Participants in the E&A Pools whose claims constitute the majority by value of ICS (UK)’s liabilities.

E&A Pool Creditors – Cedants to the E&A Pool Creditors and the remaining participants in the E&A pools.

General Creditors – Creditors of ICS (UK) who do not fall into any of the above three categories.
The Scheme bar date for the submission of claims was 11 April 2011. A proportion of ICS (UK)’s assets were set aside to form the Creditors’ Fund from which the Scheme claims of the General Creditors and E&A Pool Creditors were paid.

Following the bar date, valuation statements were sent to General Creditors as and when their Scheme claims were agreed and full settlement was made shortly after the valuation statements became binding. Valuation statements were circulated to all E&A Pool Creditors and E&A Pool Participants in July 2013. The Scheme claims of the E&A Pool Creditors were paid in full in August 2013.

Next steps:

In accordance with the Closure Scheme, the E&A Pool Participants received their final entitlements of the general assets and were paid on 23 December 2013. The Scheme was terminated on the same date.
On 24 January 2014, ICS (UK) was placed into Compulsory Liquidation and the Official Receiver was appointed Liquidator.