Letter to insurance brokers from Quinn administrators: Commercial customers wuld have limited access to insurance compensation fund

THE PROVISIONAL administrators appointed to Quinn Insurance Limited have written to several hundred insurance brokers, in response to what they say are “comments and information” from the Irish Brokers Association which they say suggested that in certain scenarios, such as liquidation, Quinn Insurance’s commercial customers would have limited access to the Insurance Compensation Fund.

In the e-mailed letter, printed on Quinn Insurance headed paper, administrators Paul McCann and Michael McAteer said the legal position set out by the IBA is not relevant as Quinn Insurance is not in liquidation. “In the history of the administration process since it was introduced in 1983, no company which has gone into administration has gone into liquidation. We therefore write to reassure you that the legal position set out by the Insurance Brokers Association is not relevant as QIL is in administration.”

The letter states that brokers “may have received a memorandum” from the IBA setting out certain limitations on access to the Insurance Compensation Fund which apply in the case of a liquidation.

The letter states that the provisional administrators may apply to the High Court to have access to the Insurance Compensation Fund “ for any sums which we and the court consider are required to enable us to carry on the business of QIL and to perform our other functions under the relevant legislation”.