Alpha Insurance A/S

Alpha Insurance A/S (Alpha Insurance), a Danish insurance company, was declared bankrupt on 8 May 2018. FSCS has been working closely with Alpha’s liquidator, the Danish Guarantee Fund and the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (Danish FSA) to understand the impact of Alpha’s bankruptcy.

See our insurance compensation limits and their conditions on our Insurance page.

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• 24 May, 2023 We are now aware that a small number of customers are owed an additional return of premium amount. In most cases the amount due back is less than £50, but if you believe this applies to you, please email InsDefaultQueries@fscs.org.uk.

A few other customers due £50 or more will have received an email explaining the process and are starting to receive payments.

Return of premium

Where FSCS has been provided with a policyholder’s full name and address, cheque payments will start being posted out immediately.

Where FSCS has not been provided with a property owner’s full name, a letter will be sent out to the address provided to FSCS by BCR/CRL providing instructions on what steps to take next, and what documents are needed, including submitting their details via the Alpha portal: https://administration.topdanmark.dk/alpha-insurance/return-of-premium/

If you are in possession of a post-completion certificate of insurance and have not received either a cheque or a letter from FSCS by 15 September, you will need to submit your claim for RoP via the Alpha portal: https://alphagroup.dk/submit-a-claim/.

To read a list of commonly asked questions around the return of premiums, click the Q&A tab above.

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Commonly asked questions

Why are you asking for my company's accounts? Down Arrow

We need to assess the insured company’s eligibility for FSCS protection. FSCS is geared towards protecting claimants who are individuals or small businesses only.

Under FSCS’ rules, a small business means a partnership, body corporate, unincorporated association or mutual association with an annual turnover of less than £1 million for the 12 months immediately preceding the start of the insurance policy.

What do you mean by: “…an annual turnover of less than £1 million for the 12 months immediately preceding the inception of the insurance policy” ? Down Arrow

We mean that we want to see what the insured company’s gross revenue or income was for a specific period of time. That specific period of time being the 12 months preceding (or leading up to) the start of the Alpha insurance policy.

E.G. if the Alpha policy cover dates were: 01/05/2016 – 30/04/2017 we need to have sight of the insured company’s turnover for the period 01/05/2015 – 30/04/2016.

The accounts are prepared on a fiscal/calendar year basis. The above mentioned period covers 2 accounting periods - do you need to see both sets of accounts? Down Arrow

Are abbreviated accounts acceptable? Down Arrow

No. Abbreviated accounts do not reference a company’s turnover, gross revenue or income in any way so are of no use in this scenario.

Can I use my phone to take a picture of the paperwork? Down Arrow

No. Pictures taken with phones are too variable in quality, making it hard to read figures. Please send a scan of the relevant documents.

I haven’t received my cheque. What should I do? Down Arrow

Please note that if you are waiting for a cheque to be reissued, this may take up to 4 weeks. If you have never received your cheque, please send us an email including the following information:

• Estate Name
• Product Name
• Full name
• Any previous full names
• DOB
• Current full address
• Any previous full address
• Evidence of name or address change if that is necessary (ie it has changed since you took the policy)
  • Acceptable evidence for Name Change is Marriage Certificate or Deed Poll
  • Acceptable evidence for Address Change is council tax or utility bill dated within the last 3 months, addressed to you and showing the new address

  Please note it may take up to 4 weeks to reissue the payment.

  Alternatively, we could arrange for a BACS transfer to be carried out – for us to do this you will need to provide your account name, number and sort code.

  I have not received my cheque (motor policy taxi driver). What should I do? Down Arrow

  Please send us proof of ID and proof of address

  • Acceptable evidence of ID is a valid passport or driving licence
  • Acceptable evidence for proof of address is council tax or utility bill dated within the last 3 months, addressed to you and showing the address.

  I have not received my cheque (Motor policy commercial). What should I do? Down Arrow

  FSCS is waiting for data from the insolvency practitioner, which we now have and which could include your claim.

  Please provide the company's full accounts and turnover for the year leading up to when the policy was bought.

  We will need to check that you are eligible for FSCS compensation (to see how FSCS protects companies please visit the useful information for small businesses, limited companies and charities page.

  The cheque I have received is in the wrong name and I need it to be reissued, what shall I do? Down Arrow

  You will need to return the cheque to FSCS (or scan it and send us the picture) along with clear details of who a reissued cheque should be made payable to. You'll need to include the following information:

  • Reason for reissue
  • Bordereau Number (shown as our reference on the cheque letter)
  • Estate Name
  • Product Name
  • Full name
  • Any previous full names
  • DOB
  • Current full address
  • Any previous full address
  • Evidence of name or address change where that is the reason for reissue
    • Acceptable evidence for Name Change is Marriage Certificate or Deed Poll
    • Acceptable evidence for Address Change is council tax or utility bill dated within the last 3 months, addressed to you and showing the new address

    Please note it may take up to 4 weeks to cancel and reissue the payment.

    Alternatively, we could arrange for a BACS transfer to be carried out – for us to do this you will need to provide your account name, number and sort code.

    Why is my refund less than I paid for the policy? Down Arrow

    When purchased, the cost of the policy was made up of several components, including surveyors’ fees, administration costs, and the insurance premium itself. FSCS can only offer protection on the insurance premium, and the amount of compensation depends on how much longer the policy had left to run. Of this, FSCS can pay 90%.

    FSCS has no access to the information around how much the developer paid CRL for the insurance policy. However, we do know the value of the Alpha insurance component, and this is the amount that our compensation is based on.

    If you have further questions on how your premium refund payment was calculated, we’d urge you to contact BCR/CRL. Call them on 0208 343 3242 or 0800 772 3200.

    If you’re not happy with the outcome, the Financial Ombudsman Service may be able to resolve your dispute.

    Following the failure of Alpha, no other insurer was prepared to take on the risks of the latent defect policies for the same money, hence the return of premiums. Likewise, the cost of a replacement policy is likely to be higher too.