As Invesco Assurance Company Limited gasps for survival, a provisional liquidator steps in. The Company’s fate hangs in the balance, akin to a patient in its last moment. 

The Genesis of Invesco’s predicament lies in the legal onslaught initiated by the petitioners in Dama Charo Nzai & 57 Others v Invesco Assurance Limited and Salesio Kinyua Njagi & 9 Others v Invesco Assurance Limited. The petitions were brought on the grounds that, inter alia, Invesco Assurance Company Limited is unable to pay its debts amounting to millions of shillings therefore the Company is Insolvent within the meaning of Section 384 of the Insolvency Act No. 18 of 2015. Furthermore, in a report issued by the Insurance Regulatory Authority in another case of Kinyanjui Njuna & Company Advocates v Invesco Assurance Limited & Insolvency Petitioner No. 155 of 2019, it was established that the insurer was operating in breach of the mandatory provision of  Section 41 of the Insurance Act, Cap 487. 

The foregoing led to the appointment of the Official Receiver as the Provisional Liquidator of  Invesco Assurance Company Limited pursuant to the provisions of Section 437 of the Insolvency Act. The primary purpose of the Provisional Liquidator is to manage the assets of the Company pending the issuance of the liquidation orders from the Court. 

As the Company awaits its final breath, policyholders scramble for alternative covers from other licensed insurers. The imminent liquidation of Invesco possesses grave risk to both policyholders and the larger insurance industry, echoing the ominous finality of corporate execution. 

Unlike the ominous finality experienced by its counterpart Invesco, Xplico Insurance Company Limited’s destiny rests in the hands of a Statutory Manager. On 8th December, 2023, Xplico was placed under statutory management and Policyholders Compensation Fund appointed to manage its affairs pursuant to the provisions Section 67c (2)(1) of the Insurance Act, Cap 487. 

This followed an Insolvency petition filed at Malindi High Court by Doris Mwaka Mwakwekwe. The fate of Xplico lies in the hands of the Statutory Manager, pursuant to Section 67C (6) of the Insurance Act which states that the Manager shall, within a period of twelve months from the date of his appointment, prepare and submit to the Commissioner a report on the financial position and the management of the insurer with recommendations as to whether the insurer is capable of being revived or should be liquidated (emphasis added). If the Statutory Manager processes the latter to the Commissioner, Section 123 of the Insurance Act on liquidation will apply. 

The future of Xplico Insurance is in the hands of a Statutory Manager, which leaves it in a vulnerable position. Policyholders, confronted with an unclear future, struggle with the unsettling thought that Xplico might follow in the unfortunate footsteps of its predecessor, Invesco. The unnerving finality of corporate execution is echoed by the shadow of impending liquidation, which leaves policyholders on edge and eagerly awaiting the resolution that will determine the future of their insurance coverage.