On 29 January 2007, Lovells will host its third annual insurance solutions seminar. The focus of this year's seminar is on an insurer or reinsurer's ability to cease its participation in discontinued lines of business through various means including the use off:
- schemes of arrangement under section 425 Companies Act 1985; and
- Part VII transfers of insurance business under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
The seminar will be chaired by Peter Taylor, a Partner in Lovells' London Insurance and Reinsurance Group. It will include commentary and debate with scheme proponents, advisers and adjudicators on how best to achieve a successful exit from discontinued or underperforming businesses, both formally and informally. Peter will give a brief introduction highlighting the latest developments in the run-off market, opportunities to buy and sell run-off business and the potential impact on the London Market of the protracted WFUM (Willis Faber Underwriting Management) pools scheme litigation.
The seminar is designed to address what is possible today and what the "business transfer of the future" will look like. It will ask whether the run-off professional should "scheme", buy or sell discontinued business in their attempt to unlock value and capital. It will analyse the best ways of managing the transactional and litigation risks that now seem to go hand in hand with any exit proposal.
It will include key talks on the following topics:
WFUM unravelled - Alexander Wood, Senior Associate, Lovells' London Business Restructuring and Insolvency Group.
- This will address the recently contested WFUM pools scheme High Court convening hearing, the issues to be learnt from a two class scheme structure and the treatment of IBNR creditors under a proposed cut-off scheme of arrangement.
Business Transfers: Highway or byway? - Tim Goggin, Partner, Lovells' London Corporate Insurance Group.
- This will cover the recent resistance raised against certain Part VII transfers and the lessons to be learnt. The talk will also explore the new opportunities under Part VII, and look at what is coming in 2007.
Exit "Right" given by Joe Bannister, Partner, Lovells' London Business Restructuring and Insolvency Group.
- This will address the general uses of schemes of arrangement and Part VIIs, who the market "runners and riders" are and issues relating to voting on schemes of arrangement.
The seminar will then conclude with an expert panel session entitled:
Exits 2007: A long and winding road
This will be moderated by Peter Taylor, with the following panellists:
Joe Bannister, Partner, Lovells
Dan Schwarzmann, Partner and Practice Leader, PwC Discontinued Insurance Group
Tony McMahon, Partner, KPMG Corporate Recovery Insurance Solutions Group
Colin Czapiewski, Independent Actuarial Consultant
Catherine Regan, General Counsel & Company Secretary, RiverStone Management Limited
The panel (and audience) will have a lively discussion on current developments within the market including some of the following topics:
- What is the preferred "exit route" today?
- What role is there for private equity funds or distressed investors?
- Equitas post Berkshire: To what extent will it be "business as usual?"
- Who should be on any "exit team"?
- What is unsaleable or unschemeable?
- What might be the impact of Solvency II?
- Best practice today
- sia Pacific and the US: compare, contrast and learn