Sale of DAS Ireland to ARAG

Part VII Transfer

This webpage provides information about the proposed transfer of insurance business from DAS Legal Expenses Insurance Company Limited (DAS) to ARAG Allgemeine Versicherungs-AG (ARAG) under Part VII of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA).

Business to be transferred
DAS has agreed to sell all of the business and assets of its branch in Ireland (other than business in respect of Northern Ireland) to the Irish branch of ARAG.

As the final step of this transaction DAS proposes to transfer all insurance policies written by or on behalf of its branch in Ireland (other than business in respect of Northern Ireland) to ARAG (theTransfer).

Transfer process
Before the Transfer can proceed under Part VII of FSMA, it requires the approval of the High Court of England and Wales (the Court). If the Court approves the Transfer, it will take legal effect shortly thereafter. It is currently proposed that this will occur on 31 July 2020.

Under Part VII of FSMA, an independent expert must report on the effects of the Transfer on the policyholders. Ms Kate Angell of Towers Watson Limited is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and has been appointed as the independent expert (the Independent Expert) to provide a report on the Transfer (the Report) and her appointment has been approved by the Prudential Regulation Authority (the PRA) following consultation with the Financial Conduct Authority (the FCA).

The Independent Expert has prepared the Report and has found that policyholders will not be materially adversely affected by the Transfer.

Key dates
The Court hearing to approve the Transfer is due to take place on 28 July 2020 at the High Court of Justice, 7 Rolls Buildings, Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1NL, United Kingdom. If approved by the Court, the Transfer is scheduled to take effect on 31 July 2020.

In light of current government guidelines regarding COVID-19, please note that it is possible that the hearing may take place remotely via Skype or another teleconferencing service.

Any change to the Court date will be published on this webpage.

Important documents
Transfer documents:

Letters:

You can request free copies of these documents by contacting us at the address below.

Your concerns
If you have concerns regarding the Transfer and how it may affect you, you have the right to make a written representation to the Court or be heard at the Court hearing (in person or by legal representation).

You may also raise these concerns with us in writing or over the telephone and we will make a record of your concerns and communicate these to the PRA, the FCA, the Independent Expert and the Court. Information on how you can contact us is provided below.

It is requested if you intend on attending the hearing (whether in person or via a representative), you inform us in writing (using the contact details set out below) as soon as possible and preferably before 21 July 2020 to set out the nature of your objection. This will enable us to provide notification of any changes to the hearing (including any details necessary to attend the hearing if it is to be held remotely) and, where possible, to address any concerns raised in advance of the hearing.

Contact Details
If you require further information or if you have any questions or concerns about the proposed Transfer or consider that you may be adversely affected then please contact us as soon as possible and preferably no later than 21 July 2020.

You can:

Disclaimer - all information in this article was correct at time of publishing.