Subject: March
2009 Update
Distribution: On February 26, 2009, the Liquidation
Court authorized the Liquidator to pay a general asset distribution to Policyholder
(Class 3) claimants with approved and confirmed claims. The distribution percentage is 100% of the
amount of approved and confirmed Policyholder claims. This is the only general asset distribution
that will be made to Class 3 Policyholder claims. Claims which have not been resolved and
claims covered by special deposits are not included and will be addressed at a
later date. To view a copy of the
Liquidator’s Application and Court Order, please see Application
No. 39 and Order
on Application No. 39 under NOTICES.
Distribution to
claimants who have not confirmed their claim balances have not been scheduled
for payment. If you have not yet
confirmed your claim balance, please contact the Liquidator immediately. See HOW
TO REACH US.
Effective
immediately, the Far West liquidator is suspending approval of claim
assignments. The Liquidator will post
notice on this website when the suspension has been lifted. This action is necessary in the interest of
Far West’s claimants, creditors and the general public.
Subject:
November 2007 Update
Dividend
Estimate to Policyholder (Class 3) Claimants: As a result of continued progress in the
liquidation, the Liquidator now estimates the general asset distribution to
Policyholder (Class 3) claimants will be 100%.
CLAIMANTS ARE
AGAIN CAUTIONED THAT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF FACTORS THAT WILL AFFECT THE
DISTRIBUTION OF GENERAL ASSETS, MANY OF WHICH ARE BEYOND THE LIQUIDATOR'S CONTROL.
AS A RESULT, THE ULTIMATE DISTRIBUTION AMOUNT MAY VARY MATERIALLY, EITHER
UPWARD OR DOWNWARD, FROM THE LIQUIDATOR'S ESTIMATES.
Subject: May 2007 Update
The Liquidator
has revised his estimated distribution of general assets which may be available
for distribution to policyholder (Class 3) Claimants. The Liquidator now estimates the general
asset distribution will be at least 90% and may be as high as 100%.
The Liquidator's
distribution estimates are based on the amount of general assets the Liquidator
believes may ultimately be available for distribution to policyholder (Class 3)
claimants. The estimates do not include
assets (specific assets) which are held for the benefit of some but not all
claimants, such as bond collateral, principal recoveries and statutory deposits
held in certain states. Claim amounts
have not yet been adjusted for specific assets. Some claimants will receive distributions in
respect of specific assets, thereby reducing their claims against Far West's
general assets, but ultimately increasing the total amounts distributed to them
in the liquidation. The effect of the
specific assets could be substantial for some claimants. All distributions, whether specific or
general, must be approved by the Liquidation Court.
There are also
circumstances which may reduce or eliminate a claimant's distribution, even
after a claim is approved, such as the claimant's recovery from or release of
the bond principal. All claimants will be
required to represent to the Liquidator that they have not received any such
recoveries or made any such releases as a condition to receiving any
distributions in the liquidation.
Some of the
amounts on which general and specific distributions will be made will not be
known until the end of the liquidation.
Claimants are therefore advised that their claim amounts may be subject
to modification.
CLAIMANTS ARE
CAUTIONED THAT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF FACTORS THAT WILL AFFECT THE DISTRIBUTION
OF GENERAL ASSETS, MANY OF WHICH ARE BEYOND THE LIQUIDATOR'S CONTROL. AS A RESULT, THE ULTIMATE DISTRIBUTION
AMOUNT MAY VARY MATERIALLY, EITHER UPWARD OR DOWNWARD, FROM THE LIQUIDATOR'S
ESTIMATES.
Subject: June 2005 Update
The Liquidator
has received a number of requests for information on the progress of the
liquidation of Far West Insurance Company (“Far West”). Most of the questions involve the prospects
for payment on claims and the time for the making of distributions on claims. The amount and timing of distributions is
subject to several variables, some of which are outside of the Liquidator’s
control. The Liquidator is diligently
pursuing completion of those matters which are within his control.
As described
below, the greatest number of claims are claims under policies, which have a
statutory payment priority after administrative costs and certain employee
claims. The Liquidator currently
estimates that there will be a minimum of a fifty percent (50%) dividend on timely
filed and approved policyholder claims. The Liquidator is unable to predict at
this time whether any amounts will be available for payment on claims in
statutory priorities which are subordinate to timely filed and approved
policyholder claims.
The Liquidator
will make claim distributions as soon as possible. It is impossible to predict with certainty
when distributions will begin.
Claimants should not expect final distributions until the latter part of
2006 at the earliest. Partial interim
distributions will be considered.
Claim Priority: Claims are prioritized by the categories
specified in the Nebraska Insurers Supervision, Rehabilitation and Liquidation
Act (“Liquidation Act”) in effect on November 9, 2001, when Far West was
declared insolvent by the District Court of Lancaster County, Nebraska and was
placed in liquidation. Claims in a
higher class priority must be paid or reserved for in full before any claims in
lower priority classifications can be paid.
The largest number of claims are timely filed claims under policies (including
bonds), which fall into Class 3, after Class 1 (claims of administration) and
Class 2 (certain employee claims).
Other claim priorities include claims of general creditors (Class 4),
certain governmental claims (Class 5), late claims (Class 6), and certain
claims of note holders and shareholders (Classes 7 and 8).
Claims
Determinations: The Liquidation Court must approve
all claims. The Liquidator makes a
recommendation to the Liquidation Court as to the allowed amount of each
undisputed claim. Disputed claims are
determined by the Liquidation Court following a dispute resolution process
involving a court-appointed referee.
Claim
Assignments: The Liquidator has been contacted by third
parties that purchase claims against insolvent companies. These firms purchase claims from claimants,
sometimes at substantial discounts, based on their calculated expected ultimate
distribution. These third parties have
no connection with the Liquidator and they have no special knowledge or
information from the Liquidator of the eventual outcome of Far West’s
liquidation. The Liquidator makes no
recommendation that claimants do (or not do) business with these third parties.