The life insurer Conservatrix was declared bankrupt on Tuesday at the request of De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). The insurer had been in dire straits for some time. The consequences for the approximately 80,000 policyholders are not yet known.
Three years ago, Conservatrix was forced to change ownership because it would no longer be able to meet the obligations from insurance sold. This also brought an end to the involvement of the Henny family, who had owned the firm from 1872 for decades. Despite protests from the brothers Boudewijn and Ewout Henny, the then directors, the company went to the American Eli Global for the symbolic amount of 1 euro. This provided the company with a financial injection of 88 million euros.
The brothers became known earlier by their conviction in 1963 in the controversial Baarnse Murder Case. When they were 17 and 15 years old, they threw the dead body of 14-year-old Theo Mastwijk into the old cesspool of the villa in Baarn where they lived with their wealthy parents. Conservatrix was also located in that house. The case led to, among other things, the novel Friend of Merit (1985) and the film Blood Brothers (2007).
Curators
The court has appointed two receivers to wind up the bankruptcy. The current insurance policies will probably be transferred to another insurer. Regulator DNB states that bankruptcy was “unfortunately inevitable because Conservatrix was unable to meet the capital requirements. An alternative solution also turned out to be impossible in the foreseeable future. ”
Last year it became clear that the insurer also had major business problems under the new owner, a holding company of Eli Global owned by the American Greg Lindberg. This controversial businessman was sentenced to jail earlier this year for bribery and fraudulent practices. Conservatrix’s liabilities were reinsured with a subsidiary of its insurance group, the American CBL. That company itself turned out not to be solvent and was written down. Ultimately, the risks then returned to the balance sheet of the Dutch company.
Last summer, Conservatrix announced that it would not succeed in building up a sufficient buffer within the legal term. The low interest rate was also a problem for the company. A request to the new American shareholder to contribute capital yielded nothing, despite summary proceedings. The management of Conservatrix still thought that a sale of the company could offer solace. In that case, regulator DNB had to be prepared to give them extra time to find a buyer.
In September, DNB appointed a trustee at the firm, on the basis of the Financial Supervision Act (Wft). This did not lead to a rescue plan, but it did lead to a bankruptcy petition.