Liquidation of American Country Insurance Company and American Service Insurance Company

On August 11, 2020, a Liquidation Order was entered against both American Country Insurance Company (American Country) and American Service Insurance Company (American Service), two Atlas Financial Holdings Inc. (Atlas) Companies that specialized in insuring commercial drivers, including taxicabs, limousines, paratransit, and airport transit.[i] Pursuant to the Liquidation Order, all auto policies with American Country and American Service shall be cancelled 30 days following Liquidation Order or the date the policy is set to expire, whichever is earlier.[ii]

Since American Country and American Service have been declared insolvent, No-Fault providers should only expect to receive reimbursement on a limited percentage of their outstanding claims with the auto insurers. Furthermore, No-Fault providers are now prohibited from litigating and/or arbitrating their disputed claims against both American Country and American Service; rather, all claims must be pursued in the liquidation proceeding through the proof of claim process. The Director of the Illinois Department of Insurance (the Liquidator) will now gather the assets of both American Country and American Service, determine the liability of the insurers to policyholders and other creditors, and eventually distribute the companies’ remaining assets in accordance with the schedule of priorities set forth in Section 205(1) of the Illinois Insurance Code Article XIIII.[iii]

While both insolvent companies are held by Atlas, the Office of the Special Deputy Receiver states that the instant liquidation proceedings do not involve claims arising under Global Liberty Insurance of New York (Global Liberty), [iv] the third insurer in Atlas’ portfolio.[v] Like American Country, Global Liberty is a company with an approved independent livery program in New York State. The Firm will provide an update should the Superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) initiate a proceeding indicating that Global Liberty too has entered a period of financial difficulty.