News

This is the latest news relating to the WFUM Pools.

Bar Date

Bar Date Reminder - 8 February 2008

Chapter 15 - 23 October 2007

The United States Bankruptcy Court has granted recognition to the Schemes of the 11 Solvent Scheme Companies which applied for Chapter 15 relief. The Chapter 15 order provides that the Schemes of such Scheme Companies are to be given full force and effect in the United States, and provides for a permanent injunction and related relief. The 11 Scheme Companies are shown below:

The amendment to the permanent injunction in the Sovereign Marine & General Insurance Company Limited section 304 case has also been granted, giving full force and effect in the United States to the Amended Scheme of Arrangement between Sovereign Marine & General Insurance Company Limited and its Scheme Creditors. (See the Important Information page for further details.)

Sphere Drake - 19 October 2007

The Creditors Meetings for the Sphere Drake WFUM Pools Scheme, which were opened but adjourned on the 27 October 2006 were held on 19 October 2007.

The date of the Sanction Hearing for Sphere Drake has been set for Monday 5 November 2007. (See the Important Information page for further details.)

Scheme Effective Date (10 October 2007) and Bar Date (7 April 2008)

The proposed Schemes for the 14 WFUM Pools Scheme Companies for whom votes were taken at the 27 October 2006 Creditor Meetings have been sanctioned by the High Court of Justice in England and Wales on 17 September 2007 and became effective and binding on the Scheme Companies and their Scheme Creditors on 10 October 2007 (the "Effective Date").(See the Important Information page for further details.) The 14 WFUM Pools Scheme Companies are listed on the WFUM Pools Scheme Companies page.

Scheme Creditors wishing to submit a Scheme Claim must submit their Claim Form via the Website or return their manual Claim Form to PRO by 11.59 pm (UK time) on 7 April 2008 (the "Bar Date").

Claim Forms may be submitted either via the WFUM Pools Website at www.wfumpools.com, or by completing and returning a paper copy of the Claim Form, by post, fax or e-mail, to PRO. The Website and the documents that accompany the manual Claim Form contain important information and guidelines explaining the process for submission of your Claim Form.

For each Scheme Creditor of which it is aware, PRO will prepare a Claim Form containing: (1) details of each Insurance Contract of which PRO is aware and which may give rise to a Scheme Claim; (2) details of Unpaid Agreed Claims of which it is aware arising under such Insurance Contracts; and (3) any details of claims or Insurance Contracts entered on the Website by the Scheme Creditor for voting purposes or otherwise, provided such details were added at claim level. Scheme Creditors should contact PRO at Pro_wfumpools@pro-ltd.co.uk to request their Website username and password if they have not already done so, which will enable them to access the secure area of the Website containing their Claim Form as prepared by PRO. Alternatively, Scheme Creditors may request a paper, CD-ROM or e-mail copy of their Claim Form from PRO.

U.S. Recognition

On 18 September 2007 PRO Insurance Solutions Limited, as the duly authorised foreign representative, commenced cases (the “Chapter 15 Cases”) by filing Petitions pursuant to Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code, with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The Court has set a hearing date of 23 October 2007. (See the Important Information page for further details.)

A hearing is also scheduled for 23 October 2007 to consider the motion of the Scheme Administrators of Sovereign Marine & General Insurance Company Limited for entry of an order (the “Amending Scheme Permanent Injunction Order”) pursuant to 11. U.S.C. 1105 and 304 modifying the Permanent Injunction Order entered by the Court on 30 December 1999, and giving full force and effect in the United States to the Amended Scheme of Arrangement between Sovereign Marine & General Insurance Company Limited and its Scheme Creditors. (See the Important Information page for further details.)

Sphere Drake

On 27 June 2006 the High Court of England & Wales directed that two meetings of the Scheme Creditors of Sphere Drake be convened to vote on the WFUM Pools scheme of arrangement proposals.

On 27 October 2006, Sphere Drake's Scheme Creditors' meetings were opened but adjourned prior to any votes being taken (the "Adjourned Meetings" ).

Sphere Drake's Scheme Creditors' meetings will be reconvened and held on 19 October 2007 commencing at 11:00am with registration from 10:00am (the "Reconvened Meetings"). The venue for the Reconvened Meetings is:

The offices of Sidley Austin LLP, Woolgate Exchange, 25 Basinghall Street, London EC2V 5HA, England

Sanction Hearing Date

The date of the Sanction Hearing for the 14 WFUM Pools Scheme Companies for whom votes were taken at the 27 October 2006 Creditor Meetings has been set for Monday 17 September 2007.

Change of company name - 30 April 2007

Sanction Directions Hearing held 19 April 2007

A Directions Hearing was held on 19 April 2007 and the Sanction Hearing for the 14 WFUM Pools Scheme Companies for whom votes were taken at the 27 October 2006 Creditor Meetings is currently scheduled for 18 July 2007. Please continue to review this website for further updates.

14 WFUM Pools Scheme Companies to apply for Court Sanction - 23 March 2007

PRO Insurance Solutions Limited, the proposed Scheme Manager of the WFUM Pools Scheme - the major participant of which is the insolvent Sovereign Marine & General Insurance Company Limited - confirms that the 14 WFUM Pools Scheme Companies for whom votes were taken at the 27 October 2006 Creditor Meetings are applying to the English High Court for sanction of the proposed WFUM Pools Schemes.  In this regard, a Directions Hearing has been scheduled for 19 April 2007.

Letters Sent to Scheme Creditors - 23 March 2007

Letters were issued on 23 March 2007 to Scheme Creditors who voted at the 27 October 2006 WFUM Pools Scheme Creditor Meetings advising them of their determined vote values.  A copy of the Chairman’s Report on the Creditor Meetings and the voting results can be accessed by Scheme Creditors on their secure part of this Website.  Scheme Creditors who do not have a secure ID and Password should contact PRO - see contacts Page

Outcome of creditor meetings to be announced in New Year

The meetings of creditors for all 16 of the participants in the WFUM Pool Schemes were convened in London on 27 October 2006. Votes were cast by creditors of 14 of the scheme companies. The meetings of two companies, Hibernian General Insurance Limited and Sphere Drake Insurance Limited, both of which only have small participations in the pool, were adjourned prior to the voting process.

As outlined in the WFUM scheme document and in line with market best practice, the independent Chairman of the meetings, Stephen Adamson, is reviewing the votes and values submitted prior to reporting to the Court on the outcome of the voting for each Scheme.

It is anticipated that the outcome of the vote will be announced in early 2007.

Please refer to the Scheme Creditor Meetings page for further details.

Creditor Meetings convened - 27 October 2006

The Creditor Meetings were convened on 27 October 2006. All votes cast will be reviewed by the Independent Chairman. Please continue to review this website for further updates.

Voting process commences - 31 July 2006

Following court approval to convene the meetings of scheme creditors the WFUM Pools have commenced the voting process. The WFUM Pools Scheme Document and voting information was made available on the website on 31 July 2006 and is also available on CD-Rom. This CD-Rom was sent to all potential creditors of the WFUM Pools for whom PRO hold a current address on 31 July 2006. The documents can be viewed on-line and downloaded in ‘pdf’ format from the Scheme documentation page on this website.
The date of the Creditor Meetings is Friday 27 October 2006 at Plaisterers’ Hall in London. Voting forms should be returned by Friday 20 October 2006. Full details are included on the Scheme Creditor Meetings page on this website.

Change of company name - 17 July 2006

Allianz Marine & Aviation (France) has changed its name at an Extraordinary General Meeting held on 17 July 2006. The new name is Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (France).

Letter to Creditors issued (Leave to Convene Meetings granted) - 30 June 2006

The Court has now granted leave to convene the necessary meetings of Scheme Creditors to vote on the proposed WFUM Pools Scheme. These meetings will take place in late October 2006. Formal notification will be sent, together with the Scheme documentation and details of how to vote, by the end of July 2006.

Leave to Convene Creditor Meetings – Judgement handed down – 9 June 2006

On June 9th, 2006, Mr Justice Warren gave leave to convene creditor meetings for the 16 proposed schemes of arrangement which together make up the “WFUM Pools Scheme”.

In relation to the WFUM Pools Scheme, based on the evidence presented at the hearing, the Court granted the Scheme Administrators of the insolvent pool participant, Sovereign Marine and General Insurance Company Limited (“Sovereign”) leave to convene the policyholder meetings for Sovereign and its solvent subsidiaries, Sovereign Insurance (UK) Ltd and Greyfriars UK Ltd, on the basis of one class of policyholders.

In respect of the other 13 solvent scheme companies the court granted leave to convene the creditor meetings on the basis of two meetings of Scheme Creditors:
i) a class of Scheme Creditors in respect of their unpaid agreed claims, other claims not requiring estimation and outstanding claims; and
ii) a class of Scheme Creditors in respect of their IBNR claims.

We will notify all relevant parties of the creditor meetings dates shortly.

Leave to Convene Court Hearing held – 27 April - 5 May 2006

The leave to convene hearing for permission to call the creditor meetings was held between 27 April and 5 May 2006.

Leave to Convene Court Hearing Adjourned - 9 March 2006

The leave to convene hearing for permission to call the creditor meetings has been adjourned and is now expected to be held on 27 and 28 April 2006.

Given the facts of our case, we believe the WFUM Pool scheme should proceed as laid out in the practice statement letter dated 20 January 2006. However, as previously stated, we are eager to ensure this initiative recognises policyholder concerns. We also recognise that recent approaches and Court decisions regarding creditor classes have varied. We are therefore looking for the guidance of the Court on this point and we have agreed to an adjournment to allow this matter to be explored.

We will update the website should there be any change to these dates.

If you require further details relating to the hearing please contact the helpline

Practice statement Letter issued - 20 January 2006

A Practice Statement Letter (‘PSL’) was sent to all WFUM Pools scheme creditors where PRO had an address. It was also sent to certain London market brokers, legal representatives and market bodies.

The PSL gives notice to scheme creditors of the intentions of the Scheme Companies to formally propose Schemes of Arrangement including their proposed application to the High Court of Justice for permission to convene the necessary meetings of creditors. This details the Scheme Companies’ proposals for the constitution of creditor classes, for voting purposes, that will be put forward to the Court.

Pre - Practice statement Letter issued 2 December 2005

A pre-Practice Statement Letter was sent to WFUM Pools scheme creditors where PRO had an address. It was also sent to certain London market brokers, legal representatives and market bodies.

The pre-PSL gives advance notice to the scheme creditors about the possibility of a Scheme of Arrangement for the WFUM Pools Companies in relation to the business written through the WFUM Pools and other liabilities (essentially the Sovereign Marine & General Insurance Company Limited involvement in the Camomile Underwriting Agency Limited pool).

Scheme Creditors are urged to commence reconciliation of their business with the WFUM Pools via the secure data site on the website. This secure site allows scheme creditors to view policy information and any associated unpaid claims. Scheme Creditors may enter additional data relating to policies, unpaid claims, outstanding claims and IBNR claims to the web site.

These letters can be viewed and downloaded from the Important Information page of the website.

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