The liquidation of controversial Sydney insurer Rural & General Insurance should be completed by next April, more than 10 years after it went into run-off.

The latest accounts show that at October 24 it had $562,028 in the bank and had paid unsecured creditors a dividend of 10 cents in the dollar last year.

The 38 unsecured creditors are owed $1.64 million and the liquidator, Murray Smith of McGrathNicol, estimates that in future he will have between $387,000 and $452,000 available to pay them.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) says in its annual report there will be no eligible policyholder shortfall in the liquidation.

In 2002 APRA allowed Rural & General to operate as an insurer in run-off.

The Federal Court appointed Mr Smith as judicial manager to the company in June 2010 on an application from APRA under the Insurance Act. In April last year he was appointed liquidator when the court agreed to an application by him for the insurer to be wound up.

Rural & General is one of two general insurers to have a judicial manager appointed. In his judgement ordering that the appointment Justice Nye Perram said a report by an APRA inspector in May 2010 concluded the company was insolvent and its management dysfunctional.

“Claims had not been paid for substantial periods of time and case estimation was inadequate,” the judge said. “Reinsurance recoveries were not being appropriately pursued.”

He said the problems could partly be traced to the division of duties between Rural & General’s former MD and its administrator, and the company did not comply with most of APRA’s prudential standards.

Justice Perram said there was a possibility the company could turn out to be solvent and a judicial manager could ascertain its true position.

Competent management could also benefit the company and Rural & General should “be given a chance to see what it can do”.

APRA gave Rural & General an exemption from its data collection requirements in 2010 after Mr Smith identified a lack of historical policy records, poorly maintained claims files and under-reserving, poor management and pursuit of reinsurance recoveries, lack of information to support loans and lack of a run-off plan.

Rural & General Insurance is now known as ACN 000 007 492. Its former CEO was Charles Pratten, who is currently awaiting sentencing on charges from the Project Wickenby investigation into international tax evasion.