Part of ban on Quinn business in UK lifted

THE FINANCIAL Regulator has lifted part of its ban on Quinn Insurance selling new motor insurance cover in the UK.

Quinn will be allowed to sell new insurance policies to provisional licence holders in Britain and Northern Ireland, the regulator announced.

The regulator said it had taken the decision after “careful consideration and analysis” of information provided by the administrators of Quinn Insurance Ltd as well as after consultation with the UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA).

The statement from the regulator indicated that there had been “important improvements” in the company’s underwriting model and “significant strengthening” of its pricing structure.

The company was prevented from writing new business in the UK after the regulator expressed concerns about the financial position of the company, particularly in relation to its solvency, and sought to have the business placed in administration to protect Quinn’s customers.

Workers protested against the decision, with the Quinn Insurance Employee Committee claiming the insurance business was losing €1.5 million a day as a result of the suspension, which it said was putting 3,000 jobs at risk.

The product line aimed at UK provisional licence holders is understood to be profitable but is not a large part of Quinn’s UK business.

Quinn Insurance’s administrators, Michael McAteer and Paul McCann of Grant Thornton, have sought to convince the regulator to allow Quinn to write other profitable lines of insurance in the UK market, including some of its commercial lines.

“The administrator has been anxious to open possible lines in the UK from the start,” a spokesman for Grant Thornton said.

“The administrator continues to engage with the regulator,” he added.

Quinn Insurance said the “limited re-entry” to the UK market was an important development.

Fine Gael TD for Cavan-Monaghan Seymour Crawford described the regulator’s move as “extremely welcome” and “a vital lifeline” for jobs, but added that concerns remained about the company.

The regulator said it continued to “work closely” with the administrators of Quinn “in relation to their obligations to restore the company to a sound commercial and financial footing”.

The Quinn Group last week withdrew its opposition to the appointment of permanent administrators to the insurer.