The rescue of FWU has failed and 100 thousand Italians are also involved in the Luxembourg insurance crack, with life policies, for a value of approximately 300 million euros. The blow comes after the Eurovita case and the rescue in extremis in 2023 of the 400 thousand customers with the intervention of the five Italian big insurance and the “birth” of Cronos Vita.
The Luxembourg Supervisory Authority Commissionerat Aux Assurances (CAA) has officially announced that Fwu’s return plan has failed And that the Luxembourg Court was asked for the dissolution and liquidation of the company. Founded in 2006, FWU Life is an operator specialized in the life policy sector, with particular attention to unit Linked policies, therefore linked to the trend of investment funds. These products, often sold as safe savings solutions, actually hide a high risk profile and for many customers, these risks are not fully understood at the time of the signature.
The group has also been operating in Italy for almost twenty years, where customers are almost 100 thousand (over one million worldwide). Last summer, the company’s budget 2023 was not certified by the auditors. The investigation by the Luxembourg Supervisory Authority that on July 19 notified the emergency: FWU LIFE no longer complies the minimum requirements of capital and solvency on 19 July. From that moment on, the six months of time have started to the company to fix their funds. And from that moment Fwu has suspended payments and frozen the policies. Now the official declaration of the Luxembourg Supervisory Authority: the six months have passed and the restoration plan has not been successful.
To further complicate the situation, on 1 December the Court of Munich ordered the opening of an insolvency procedure against the Pattern Fwu AG, confirming the serious financial difficulty of the entire group.
And the customers? The current scenario is of frequent and not redeemed policies signed and savings invested by the uncertain future. Fwu has continued in recent months to send e-mails of reminding payments to customers and now the Council of Consumer Associations is clear: to suspend any payment of further premiums. Confconsumatori asked for immediate intervention by the Institute for Supervisory Assicurazioni (Vass), to establish a way out for Italian savers with the Luxembourg supervisory authority.
In less than two years for Italian customers two cases: Eurovita And Fwu Now. Many are asking for the sector greater customer protection and more stringent regulation. The Fwu crisis represents an alarm bell for the entire insurance sector.