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By Steve UMIDHA
Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) has placed Invesco Assurance Company Limited under Statutory Management, and subsequently appointed the Policyholders Compensation Fund (PCF) as the Statutory Manager for the distraught firm.
As a result, Invesco Assurance Company Limited (under statutory management) will now not be authorized to enter into any new insurance contracts from 14th August 2024.
“The insurer’s existing Policyholders are advised to immediately seek alternative covers from other licensed insurers to ensure that there is no unnecessary exposure.
The Policyholders Compensation Fund will compensate the affected claimants as provided for under the Insurance Act, Cap 487 Laws of Kenya,” said IRA’s commissioner of insurance in a statement.
When a company is placed under statutory management it means that the regulator takes over its core functions, managerial and operational. The management of the company is locked out of running the company for the period under which it is under statutory management.
The company was placed under liquidation through a decree of the court dated 6th February 2023, a year after when cracks began to show due to its failure to submit financial statements, leading to a conflict with IRA.
In accordance with a court ruling, Invesco Assurance Company was then prohibited from issuing new insurance policies and is not authorized to enter into any new insurance contracts.
The issuere was fined for various violations, including late payment of claims and failure to submit audited accounts in Q3 2022. It was fined the highest amount of KES 24.94 million for missing the deadline for submitting audited books, and it remains on IRA’s blacklist.
The Policyholders Compensation Fund (PCF), which safeguards policyholders of insolvent insurers by compensating them for unpaid claims, with a maximum compensation limit of KES 250,000 for any one claim lodged by a claimant, will compensate affected claimants.