Regulator told Danish insurer with UK brokers to shore up claims account in July - latest

Danish insurer Alpha Insurance A/S had to boost its claims provisions by nearly 30% after intervention from the Danish regulator, it has emerged.

Insurance Times first reported yesterday how Alpha had fallen below solvency requirements after the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) said it needed to cut estimates of money owed to it. 

But Insurance Times can reveal that the regulator’s concerns over Alpha’s claims situation surfaced in July last year. 

Alpha had estimated it needed 1810.2m DKK, around £216.m, in gross claims provisions at the end of 2016, according to Alpha’s 2017 interim report corrections.

This triggered the Danish FSA to step in on July 18 last year and order Alpha to bolster its claims provisions.

Alpha eventually ended up boosting claims provisions by 528.3mDKK, around £65m - nearly a 30% increase on original estimates.

The Danish insurer said its original estimates were based on indepedent actuaries and it disagreed with the Danish FSA.

Alpha also does not place business with reinsurers below an A- rating, it also noted in the report. 

Alpha has a network of brokers throughout the UK, offering products such as fleet and protection.

One of its troubled partners, collapsing insurer CBL, transfered Alpha a reinsruance payments without regulatory authorisation. 

One of Alpha’s Danish rivals, Qudos, cut motor fleet broker patners in the UK,  Insurance Times reported in November last year. 

No one from Alpha was available for comment.