Chapter H16- Insurance Companies

Insurance, is an area where almost every member of the public has some involvement. As a result, special legislation attempting to prevent insolvency and to deal with its particular problems if insolvency nonetheless occurs has been in force for some years. This legislation has, until relatively recently, not been greatly altered by the Insolvency Act of 1986. A fundamental change, introduced on April 20, 2003, is the giving of priority to insurance creditors over other uninsured creditors (including reinsurance creditors) in the winding-up of an insurer. This chapter deals with the special legislation for insurance companies, and the features in ordinary insolvency proceedings which are peculiar to both companies and brokers. The Lloyd’s market is outside the scope of this chapter.