PART VII TRANSFER

PART VII TRANSFER

First Title Insurance Plc: Part VII Transfer

In response to the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU) (also known as “Brexit”), and so that existing EEA policies can continue to be serviced, First Title Insurance Plc (“FTI”) has transferred its EEA policies (not including its UK policies) to First European Title Insurance Company Limited (“FETIC”), a company incorporated in Malta and regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”).

This webpage details the legal transfer of those policies from FTI to FETIC, that took place under Part VII of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (the Transfer). The Transfer was approved by the High Court on 21 April 2020, and, in accordance with the terms of the Scheme Document (which you can find below), took place on 28 April 2020.

Information on the Transfer

An Independent Expert, Mr Stewart Mitchell FIA of Lane Clark & Peacock LLP, was approved by the Prudential Regulation Authority, in consultation with the Financial Conduct Authority, to assess and report on the terms of the Transfer and the likely effects on all of FTI’s policyholders, to include whether they were being treated fairly as a result of the Transfer. The Independent Expert produced a report, which contained his conclusions and findings in respect of the Transfer (the “Independent Expert Report”), along with a Supplementary Report which were considered by the High Court prior to sanctioning the Transfer.

The Independent Expert prepared three documents in total:

• The Independent Expert Report (a full version), which details at length how the Transfer would affect FTI’s policyholders, as well as containing the justification as to how each conclusion has been reached.

• The summary of the Independent Expert Report (the “Independent Expert Summary Report”), which gave a brief overview of the Transfer and set out the Independent Expert’s conclusions on the effect of the Transfer on policyholders. The Independent Expert Summary Report was created to provide policyholders with a clear understanding of the terms of the Transfer (as per the Scheme Booklet below), and the impact that this would have on their policies.

• The Independent Expert Supplementary Report, which took into account any new information relevant to the Transfer since the Independent Expert Report was produced.

You can find the Independent Expert’s Report, Independent Expert Summary Report, and the Independent Expert’s Supplementary report, all of which concluded that FTI policyholders would not be materially adversely affected by the Transfer, in the ‘Important Documents’ section below.

Important Documents

Letter for policyholders

Letter for intermediaries

Scheme Booklet

Scheme Document

Independent Expert Report

Independent Expert Summary Report

Independent Expert Supplementary Report

Legal Notice

Contact Us

If you have any questions in relation to the Transfer, you can contact us as follows:

• Email us at compliance@firsttitle.co.uk;

• Write to us at Compliance Department, First Title Insurance plc, ECA Court, 24-26 South Park, Sevenoaks, Kent, United Kingdom, TN13 1DU;

• Speak to us at 0044 (0)207 160 8606.