November 10, 2014, is the deadline for filing proof of claims with the Office of the Special Deputy Receiver in Illinois regarding the estates of Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company, American Manufacturers Mutual Insurance Company and American Motorists Insurance Company. Those insurance companies are all part of the Lumbermens Mutual Group and were formerly known as Kemper. They entered liquidation on May 10, 2013.

A policyholder may have a TPA or a state guaranty association, or both, handling Lumbermens claims on a day-to-day basis. Regardless of who is adjusting or paying the Lumbermens claims, however, policyholders need to file proofs of claim with the Office of the Special Deputy Receiver. The proofs of claim should be as complete as possible, as well as timely.

Filing a claim in the liquidation is an important first step in recovering from an insolvent insurance company’s estate.

If you would like guidance and assistance in the claims-filing process, please contact the authors of this Alert, the Reed Smith Insurance Recovery Group’s Global Practice Group Leader, Douglas E. Cameron, or any Reed Smith Insurance Recovery Group attorney with whom you routinely work, with any questions.

Reed Smith can also review your insurance program for other potential sources of recovery. Insurance guaranty associations, umbrella insurance, and reinsurance all potentially provide alternative or additional sources of recovery.

For the second year in a row, U.S. News-Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” named Reed Smith its “National Law Firm of the Year” in Insurance Law (2014-2015). In addition, the group is named among the best policyholder coverage practices by Chambers USA, Chambers UK, Legal 500 US and Legal 500 UK. The National Law Journal named Reed Smith’s Insurance Recovery Group in Chicago its 2014 “Chicago Litigation Department of the Year in Insurance,” and The Legal Intelligencer named the practice in Pennsylvania a finalist for its 2014 “Pennsylvania Litigation Department of the Year.”

Client Alert 2014-295