The Insurance Commission (IC) has placed Oriental Assurance Corp. under receivership, effective March 9, due to severe liquidity and solvency issues.
All claim payments and legal actions against the non-life insurer are suspended.
In a stay order dated March 6, Insurance Commissioner Reynaldo A. Regalado cited an evaluation showing the company’s inability to settle obligations on time.
Atty. John A. Apatan, manager of the IC’s Conservatorship, Receivership and Liquidation (CRL) Division, was named interim ex-officio receiver.
The order freezes the insurer’s operations outside ordinary business expenses. It is barred from selling, transferring, or encumbering assets without the receiver’s recommendation and the Commissioner’s approval, and halts all pending court cases and administrative proceedings to protect policyholders from unnecessary litigation costs.
Regalado emphasized that the suspension is temporary. The stay order may be lifted if Oriental Assurance demonstrates sufficient liquidity to meet its obligations; otherwise, the IC may proceed to formal liquidation.
Policyholders and creditors with outstanding concerns have been instructed to file claims with the receiver at the IC’s Manila office or at the company’s headquarters in Ortigas Center, Pasig.
