Regulator given Quinn Insurance report

THE JOINT administrators of Quinn Insurance have given Financial Regulator Matthew Elderfield the findings of their investigation into alleged breaches of insurance regulations which resulted in their appointment earlier this year, the High Court was told yesterday.

The administrators, in presenting their fourth report yesterday to the president of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, said they had given the findings of their investigation to Mr Elderfield, who had placed the insurer into administration last March.

No details of the findings were revealed to the court and the regulator will now decide what steps, if any, to take.

Bernard Dunleavy, for administrators Michael McAteer, and Paul McCann of Grant Thornton said they were happy with how administration was progressing.

Counsel said the administrators have been keeping a tight eye on the company’s solvency ratios and Quinn Insurance would not have to avail of the Insurance Compensation Fund, set up by the Government to protect policyholders in the event an insurer cannot meet its liabilities.

The administrators’ report, parts of which are confidential for commercial reasons, including sections dealing with solvency, also said more than 800 redundancies required from the workforce of 2010 will be achieved through voluntary redundancies and natural wastage, counsel said.

Quinn’s non-executive directors are to be replaced with independent directors and Quinn’s executive directors are to resign.

The merchant bankers hired to help sell the group, Macquarie Capital Europe Ltd, had originally identified 90 prospective buyers. That number was reduced to 11 before the commencement earlier this month of the second phase of negotiations, Mr Dunleavy said.

For commercial reasons, the number of parties involved in the second phase was not being disclosed publicly, he added.

Counsel also said the business in Ireland had improved and Quinn’s UK motor insurance business had been going well. While the regulator had stopped Quinn underwriting commercial insurance in the UK, he had allowed it continue to provide insurance to a large, unnamed client.

Mr Justice Kearns adjourned for a week an application for fees sought by the administrators and their lawyers. The fees were based on similar payments for work done to date and the judge said, having been told things were progressing well, he expected fees to reduce as there was “less and less work”.

While the process was going well, Mr Dunleavy said he disagreed there was less work involved.