BANKING & FINANCE - Jan. 18, 1992

Executive Life Liquidation Value Set: Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kurt Lewin ruled on the liquidation value of Executive Life Insurance Co. of California, which failed last April. The liquidation value will determine how much policyholders will receive if they decide to pull their money out of the company instead of transferring their accounts to the buying group, a consortium led by Altus Finance and Mutuelle Assurance Artisanale de France. Those who opt out of the deal would get 47.9 cents per dollar compared to about 73 cents if they stick with the company through its five-year rehabilitation period. If Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi wins a court appeal that seeks to block holders of municipal bonds backed by Executive Life policies from getting as much as policyholders, the liquidation value would jump to 60.7 cents on the dollar, while those who stick with the rehabilitation plan would get about 89 cents, according to the Department of Insurance.