The November 10, 2016, deadline for timely filing liquidated claims in the Lumbermens Liquidation has been extended to November 10, 2017.

The November 10, 2016, deadline for timely filing liquidated claims in the Lumbermens Liquidation has been extended to November 10, 2017. Such claims must be filed with the Office of the Special Deputy Receiver in connection with insurance policies issued by Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company, American Manufacturers Mutual Insurance Company, and American Motorists Insurance Company (“Lumbermens Companies”), which are all part of the Lumbermens Mutual Group, formerly known as Kemper Insurance Company (“Lumbermens Liquidation”).

The Lumbermens Companies entered liquidation May 10, 2013. The initial deadline for timely filing a proof of claim in the Lumbermens Liquidation was November 10, 2014. Initially, policyholders had until November 10, 2015 to submit documentation to establish their claims had been “liquidated” (or closed/settled). Since then, the deadline for filing “closed” or “liquidated” claims has been extended twice – most recently allowing liquidated claims to be timely submitted through November 10, 2017. The process of filing a liquidated claim requires policyholders to submit proof of payment to establish the liquidated value of the claim achieved via settlement, judgment or alternative final resolution. By filing proof of payment and settlement, the policyholder’s claim in the liquidation is elevated from priority (e) to priority (d), representing a higher priority for purposes of distribution of assets from the Lumbermens Liquidation estate. “Open” or “non-liquidated” claims that were timely filed before the November 10, 2014, deadline will remain at priority level (e).

If you would like further 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, David M. Halbreich, or any Reed Smith Insurance Recovery Group attorney with whom you routinely work.

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 third time since 2014, U.S. News-Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” named Reed Smith its 2017 “National Law Firm of the Year” in Insurance Law. 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 2016 “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 2016-298