A reinsurance book that last wrote business in 1983 has finally reached legal closure. Carrick Group completed the court-sanctioned transfer of IRB-Brasil Resseguros’ UK branch contracts to Community Reinsurance Corporation Limited on 20 June 2026. The portfolio had been in run-off for more than four decades.
The transaction was carried out under Part VII of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The High Court of Justice of England and Wales sanctioned it on 16 June 2026. It marks the end of IRB-Brasil Resseguros’ involvement in the London market.
Phil Hernon, chief operating officer of Carrick Group, said the process took 24 months to transfer less than $25 million of assets. That ratio of time and cost to reserves is the central issue Hernon chose to raise publicly.
“This transaction has highlighted the cost of transacting a Part VII,” Hernon said. “We would welcome engagement with stakeholders and regulators to allow smaller balance sheets to be transferred at a proportionate cost, given the costs in relation to the reserves transferred in this Part VII.”
Hernon also noted the transaction showed the group could complete such work. “We are very pleased to have completed the Part VII as it is another milestone in the Carrick story and shows the market we have the capability to complete such transactions,” he said.
IRB-Brasil Resseguros said the transfer aligns with its current business strategy.
The UK branch of IRB-Brasil Resseguros underwrote reinsurance business between 1974 and 1983, then entered run-off. Community Reinsurance Corporation Limited, a UK-domiciled reinsurer in run-off since 1984, was acquired by Carrick Group in 2020.
Hernon’s call for engagement sits inside a live legislative debate. A House of Lords committee in June 2025 found UK compliance costs disproportionately high.
The London Market Group called for a more tailored and proportionate approach. The committee’s chair cited overlapping mandates and slow decision-making as key contributors.
The regulatory environment is also changing in ways that give Hernon’s point added weight. New PRA solvent exit requirements ask firms to plan for run-off of latent claims, commutation strategies, and the possible use of Part VII transfers. The guidance notes that understanding the costs of a portfolio exit can influence strategic decisions about entering or withdrawing from a market.
The Carrick-IRB-Brasil transaction is not an isolated case. DARAG entered a loss portfolio transfer with Soteria Insurance Limited in March 2025, with a subsequent Part VII transfer planned subject to regulatory approval.
Part VII remains the standard route to legal finality in UK run-off. Its cost relative to the reserves involved draws growing scrutiny across the sector.
