Commissioner: Oklahoma Completes First Insurance Business Transfer in U.S.

The District Court of Oklahoma County has approved Providence Washington Insurance Company (PWIC) to complete its Insurance Business Transfer (IBT) Plan, making it the first such transfer in the United States, according to Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready.

The Oklahoma Insurance Department reported the Plan will transfer substantially all the insurance and reinsurance business underwritten by PWIC to Yosemite Insurance Co., an Oklahoma insurance company.

The transfer will include the liabilities associated with those policies as well as $38.5 million from PWIC to Yosemite as consideration for assuming those liabilities. Both PWIC and Yosemite are wholly owned subsidiaries of Enstar Group Limited.

The process began in 2019 when PWIC filed its IBT Plan with the Oklahoma Insurance Department. Following a review of the plan by an independent expert, the Commissioner Mulready and department staff, Mulready approved the IBT Plan and authorized PWIC to petition the District Court for approval.

Oklahoma’s IBT law became effective in November 2018 and is the most expansive such law in the country, the OID said. The Oklahoma process closely mirrors Part VII Transfers of the Financial Services & Markets Act of 2000 in the United Kingdom, which has resulted in over 300 successful transfers during the past 20 years, The OID said.

According to a media release from Enstar, the legislative framework for the transfer is designed with implied individual policyholder consent after a rigorous regulatory and judicial review process in which all affected stakeholders may participate. Although common in many parts of the world, this is the first insurance business transfer to occur in the United States, Enstar said.

Source: Oklahoma Insurance Department; Enstar

Related:

• Oklahoma Commissioner OKs Rhode Island Insurer’s Insurance Business Transfer Plan
• Experts Say Oklahoma’s Insurance Business Transfer Law Will Boost Economy
• Combs Named Oklahoma Deputy Commissioner of Insurance Business Transfers
• After 205 Years, R.I.-Based Providence Washington to Close Its Doors

Topics USA Oklahoma