Insolvency Administrator Files Lawsuit Against Mannheimer Versicherung in Watchmaster Burglary Case

A meticulously planned burglary led the luxury watch retailer Watchmaster into bankruptcy. More than six months later, the insolvency administrator is still waiting for compensation from the insurance cover and has now filed a lawsuit. How does the affected insurer react?

On November 19, 2022, two men pretended to be employees of a security company and gained access to the rooms of a private locker system in Berlin-Charlottenburg. The video footage from the safe shows them masked spraying the cameras. According to the police, they then broke into the depot of the luxury watch retailer Watchmaster and lockers rented from private individuals. They stole watches, gold, money, jewelery and other valuables from 300 lockers.

According to the Berlin public prosecutor’s office, the total value of the loot was around 32 million euros. Watchmaster alone suffered damage amounting to 10 million euros. A reward of 25,000 euros was offered for the perpetrators on the run. Of the approximately 1,000 stolen watches, only a small proportion belonged to Watchmaster and the majority to customers who wanted to sell their watches through the company, the company said at the time. A few days after the robbery, Watchmaster filed for bankruptcy. Future sales and margins have been taken away from the company, especially during the current Christmas business. “Under these unexpected circumstances, the company is no longer able to make a positive going concern forecast. The incident is forcing us into bankruptcy,” said Sprecher at the end of November 2022.

Dispute over insurance coverage

Watchmaster was one of the largest certified retailers of second-hand luxury watches in Europe. The company, founded in 2015, employed 75 people before the robbery and reported a €3.7 million net loss for the 2020 financial year. Investors put around 50 million euros into building up the company. “The business did not previously cover its costs and the existing infrastructure was – as is usual with start-ups – designed for growth,” said restructuring expert Philipp Hackländer from the law firm White & Case, who business week Beginning of the year. But he added: “The direction was right – until the burglary report burst in the middle of a financing round.” In January, he was still confident that an investor for Watchmaster would be found by March. In the end, many interested parties contacted him. A total sale did not succeed in the end, the company was broken up. The remaining trade is settled.

The insolvency administrator also stated in March that he expected a decision on compensation for the customers affected by the theft to be made soon, since all the necessary insurance documents had been submitted and the amount of the damage quantified. After the robbery, Watchmaster explained that the insurance company would only reimburse you for the value of the purchase – “which by far does not cover what has already been invested in processing and certification as well as marketing”.

The insurance cover was granted by Mannheimer Versicherung. According to a report by business week However, the last talks between the Watchmaster team and the insurance company in May were unsuccessful. The insolvency administrator Philipp Hackländer has therefore filed a lawsuit against the insurance company with the Berlin Regional Court. “Unfortunately, this step has become necessary due to the behavior of Mannheimer Versicherung AG, even if we have to reckon with a process lasting several years,” he says in the business week quoted.

On VWheute-Inquiry, Mannheimer Versicherung informed that the lawsuit had not yet been received. The company did not want to comment further on the case, referring to data protection in customer relationships. It is the customer himself, Watchmaster and his insolvency administrator who have made the fragile relationship with the insurer public. Mannheimer Versicherung achieved EUR 428 million in gross premiums written in the 2022 financial year. The annual surplus was EUR 2.1 million. The transport insurer, which specializes in expensive objects, has been part of the Continentale mutual insurance association since 2012.

Author: VW editorial team