Acting Superintendent Wrynn Appoints Hayes To Head New York Liquidation Bureau

NEW YORK, NY (09/01/2009)(readMedia)-- Acting New York State Insurance Superintendent James J. Wrynn has announced the appointment of Dennis J. Hayes as Special Deputy Superintendent of the New York Liquidation Bureau (NYLB). Hayes has been a senior executive at the Liquidation Bureau since 1996, most recently serving as Assistant Special Deputy Superintendent. He replaces Mark Peters, who served as head of the NYLB since April 2007.

The NYLB acts for the Superintendent of Insurance as the court-appointed fiduciary and Receiver of insurance companies that have been declared impaired or insolvent. Its overall goal is to protect policyholders and creditors of these companies by maximizing assets and resolving liabilities, returning rehabilitated companies to the marketplace, or distributing the proceeds of the company in a timely manner to creditors.

"Dennis Hayes is an excellent choice to head the Liquidation Bureau," said Governor David A. Paterson. "As a highly regarded and well established attorney and executive in the field of insolvency, he has the experience needed to ensure the NYLB's integrity and accountability as it continues its important work of protecting the policyholders and creditors of financially impaired insurers."

Acting Superintendent Wrynn said, "Dennis is exceptionally qualified for this position and possesses an intimate knowledge of the Liquidation Bureau. He is well positioned to continue the important progress that the NYLB has made in the last two years, and to maintain its integrity and accountability.

"I want to thank Mark Peters for his fine leadership of the Liquidation Bureau since April 2007, and I'm happy to say he has agreed to continue serving as a Special Advisor," Wrynn said.

As Special Deputy Superintendent, Hayes will head the Bureau, reporting to the Superintendent. The Bureau, which receives no taxpayer funding, works to rehabilitate financially impaired insurers, or, if no rehabilitation is possible, carry out an orderly liquidation of insolvent companies. It administers claims and, where there is coverage, makes payments from insurer assets and the State's insurance security funds.

Hayes brings to the position of Special Deputy Superintendent 27 years experience as an attorney specializing in insurance, reinsurance and receivership matters. As an NYLB Assistant Special Deputy Superintendent, for example, he oversaw the Reinsurance and Estate Management Divisions. In his previous NYLB position as Executive Director for Receivership Operations, Hayes developed the final plan for the successful rehabilitation of Interboro Mutual Indemnity Insurance Company and its conversion to Interboro Insurance Company. He also managed the rehabilitation of Rochdale Insurance Company.

From 2001 to 2003, Hayes served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel to Recovery National Corporation in Tarrytown, N.Y., a company specializing in identifying and recovering unrealized reinsurance.

Hayes started his career in the insurance industry in 1982 as an attorney for the New York Insurance Exchange. As an attorney in private practice from 1987 to 1996, he specialized in insurance, reinsurance and regulatory matters.

A longstanding member of the Insurance Law Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Hayes has participated as a panel member in various CLE programs on reinsurance recoveries and is the author of scholarly articles in the field.

Hayes is a 1974 magna cum laude graduate of Saint Leo University, where he received the school's general excellence award, and a 1981 graduate of St. John's University School of Law. He and his wife, Marianne, have two children.

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