News
Quinn Insurance in Administration
Ireland’s most controversial insurer, Quinn Insurance has been placed into administration by the Irish regulator and is now closed to business in the UK. The reasons cited point to poor solvency ratios and unexplained “matters” that have “very recently come to light”.
NW Brown Insurance Brokers have never supported Quinn and our decision not to do so has unfortunately proved to be a correct one. We only use insurers with a strong financial rating and only recommend the strongest markets for our clients. This case has all too clearly proven why Brokers must be extremely cautious over which insurers they deal with – particularly when times are tough as so often that is when these situations come to light.
Further information:
Quinn Insurance was established in 1996 and will continue to trade as a going concern, but "The administrators say the company will no longer be taking on new business in the UK and will also not be renewing any existing policies in the UK with immediate effect”.
In the interests of the policyholders, the administrators will now run the general insurance side of the business as a going concern.
The current crisis for Quinn was caused by its acting as a guarantor to other Quinn companies to the tune of €448m, and in the process leaving itself (on paper at least) in the red. In October 2008, the Financial Regulator fined Quinn Insurance €3.4m when it discovered that it had lent other Quinn Group companies €288m without its knowledge.
What do you do?
If you are a Quinn customer the following advice may help:
- Check the status of your policy with Quinn immediately
- If you are a sub contractor and you use a Quinn policy as evidence of insurance you should check that the policy is still acceptable to the principal contractor
- If you pay your premiums through a finance provider, do not cancel the agreement without contacting the finance provider as your finance agreement may be separate to the insurance policy and cancelling one may not cancel the other.
If you need to re-insure now to satisfy any contractual obligations or you are due for renewal soon, we are able to quote. Please contact commercial.insurance@nwborwn.co.uk or call 01223 720 322
Feature Created: 2010-04-08
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