Effective 12:01 a.m. March 26, 2007, Vanguard Fire & Casualty Company was ordered into receivership for purposes of liquidation by the Second Judicial Circuit Court in Leon County, Florida ("Court"). The Florida Department of Financial Services is the court appointed Receiver of Vanguard Fire & Casualty Company (“Vanguard”). The company consented to receivership for purposes of rehabilitation on January 19, 2007. Although the Receiver attempted to rehabilitate the company, it was not possible to resolve the financial difficulties of the company. The Receiver petitioned the Court for a liquidation order to best protect the interests of Vanguard’s policyholders and claimants.

In accordance with the terms of the Liquidation Order, all policies are cancelled at 12:01 a.m. on April 25, 2007, unless otherwise cancelled earlier in the normal course of business. On March 27, 2007, the Court entered an order approving the Receiver's arrangement with Royal Palm Insurance Company (Royal Palm) and Security First Insurance Company (Security First) to provide an offer of replacement insurance coverage to the Vanguard policyholders. Royal Palm and Security First are both authorized insurers in Florida and have an “A” Demotech rating which meets the requirements of mortgage lenders. Royal Palm and Security First will offer a new policy of insurance to all current Vanguard policyholders, with an effective date of April 25, 2007 or upon expiration of the policyholder's coverage, whichever event occurs sooner. Approximately 76% of Vanguard's policyholders will be offered coverage through Security First while 24% will be offered coverage through Royal Palm. Policyholders should contact their agents to determine which of the two companies will offer coverage.

The Receiver, Royal Palm and Security First will send letters to all known Vanguard policyholders within the next few days informing them of how they may take advantage of the Royal Palm and Security First offers. At this time, Royal Palm and Security First are able to offer immediate replacement insurance coverage to policyholders with no property damage to their homes. These policyholders will have until May 25, 2007, to pay premium to Royal Palm and Security First for their new coverage. However, the two companies will only be able to offer insurance coverage to Vanguard policyholders with property damage upon receipt of evidence that the home repairs have been completed. In the interim, the Receiver strongly urges policyholders with property damage to work with their agents in seeking replacement insurance coverage or, in the event that no other coverage is available, in obtaining temporary, limited coverage through Citizens Property Insurance Corporation as soon as possible.

With the entry of the Liquidation Order, the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (“FIGA”) has been activated to pay outstanding claims and provide insurance coverage within the statutory limitation to policyholders until the cancellation of the policies under the referenced provision of the Liquidation Order. The maximum amount FIGA will cover is $300,000 with special limits applying to (1) damages to structure and contents on homeowners claims and (2) on condominium and homeowners association claims. For damages to structure and contents on homeowners claims the FIGA cap is an additional $200,000. For condominium and homeowners association claims the cap will be $100,000 multiplied by the number of units in the association. All claims are subject to a $100 deductible over and above any deductible identified in the policies.

On January 24, 2008, the Court issued an order extending the claims filing deadline from March 26, 2008 until June 30, 2008. To view a copy of the order, click here.