The final swan song for MCE (as was but now GR123 in administration).

Ever since the announcement was made that MCE insurance was going into administration, I have been working with several clients to sort out the fallout. Within the last few days, I closed my last file. If anyone out there is still having issues, do give me a shout.

This was interesting to me as a lawyer, and you might be interested as well.

SM (a MAG member) came to me as he had received notice from the Court that a person whose bike had been knocked over by his bike had made a claim and he now had a Court Judgment against him of nearly £20,000.00. Understandably time to panic. To be fair, he acted right away, firstly by applying to the Court to set the Judgment aside and secondly, by contacting Sorrymate.
What had happened is that MCE told the solicitors who were pursuing payment of the £20,000.00 to send all the Court papers to them and they would deal. The Court papers were sent and not dealt with and so Judgment was entered. The first SM knew about anything since he reported the matter months before, was the Judgment.

The key was to get the solicitors who act for the administrators to take over the application and to get MCE (as was) on record as the Defendant and SM taken off. This would seem simple, but it took at least 20 phone calls and quite a few emails to persuade the solicitors to get on board and deal. Perseverance was the key. That and a few cups of tea whilst sitting on hold. The secretary at the solicitors for MCE got to the point of actually recognising my voice when I called. I have to say that she was lovely every time.

The day for the hearing of the application arrived and the Judgment was set aside, MCE (as was) became the Defendant so all is well that ends well.

As SM put it “Just wanted to say again a big Thank You for all your help with the Court Hearing. We wouldn’t have had a clue on how to resolve this matter without your assistance.
Are you sure we can’t pay you for your time?
Is there a good address we can send a token of our appreciation to?
Once again, Many thanks. “

I thought a donation to Air Ambulance would hit the spot.
So, it would seem, the saga of MCE is concluding. Legally quite interesting and nice to give something back. Because of my opinion of MCE I did all the work for free. Sometimes it’s just about doing the right thing.

OPINION ON MCE AS WAS.
FERGUS DALGARNO

Hello.

I am Fergus from Sorrymate and this is my view of the position as it stands with MCE Insurance. This sort of thing is never exciting but what follows will hopefully give some guidance and help avoid a few pitfalls.

This is what I have been able to find out to date, but it has to be taken with a degree of care as things are potentially subject to change.
1. MCE Insurance Company Limited is now known as Green Realisations Limited and is currently in administration (hereinafter MCE). Administrators are now running the company.

2. This company should not be confused with MCE Insurance Limited which was MCE’s sole broker for policies and is still trading. (Please note that I do not believe that there is a cause of action against this company for now).

3. MCE was registered in Gibraltar and as such come under Gibraltarian Law. More of this later.

4. As of 31st January 2022, all policies from MCE are cancelled so any claim after that date is void. If anyone has insurance with MCE, they need to arrange new insurance immediately.

5. The FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme) will be arranging compensation to refund in part, premiums paid where people have paid for 12 months and received less cover.

6. My belief is that these are to be paid at 90% but I am awaiting confirmation.

7. My understanding is that in principle all first-person claims (where you are claiming on your own insurance) will be paid out at 90% and all third-party claims (where you have a claim against someone insured by MCE) are paid out at 100%.

8. The big issue at the moment appears to be those people who have made a claim against their own policy with MCE and MCE have refused the claim in full or in part.

9. Under the Insolvency Act of Gibraltar no action may be brought against a company in liquidation without permission of the Court or the Administrator.

10. The above Act applies in the UK as well (under the wording of the Act) therefore a Judgment against MCE is unenforceable.

11. According to the FSCS they will pay compensation where the claim is agreed and valued by the Administrator. They will not pay on the sight of a Judgment against MCE or GR123 Ltd. Basically obtaining a judgment, is pointless, at this stage.

12. The only course of action, at the moment, is to ask the Administrator to reconsider your claim. They have set up a scheme to enable this.

13. The review of claims is being carried out by a company called

Quest Consulting, 52 – 54 Gracechurch Street, London, EC3V 0EH

gr123@quest-group.co.uk

www.quest-group.co.uk

14. In short, my advice would be as follows:

A. If you are owed a refund of the premium, then sit tight. The FSCS is going to sort refunds of at least part of the premium, but be aware, this will take months.

B. If you have a claim against someone insured by MCE, make sure, if you are issuing proceedings, that you issue against the insured rider and not against MCE. These Judgments are not against MCE so are not covered by the relevant Gibraltar Insolvency Act. My understanding is that the FSCS will be paying these in full. I await clarification.

C. If you are making a claim against MCE then go through the procedure with their governance people first, governancecomplaints@mceinsurance.com Once that runs its course, if you remain unhappy with the result (which will be paid out by the FSCS in time) file a complaint with Quest, details above.

I am currently awaiting further clarification from the Administrators, Quest and the FCFS and will update further in due course.