Key Post Quinn Insurance in Administration - FAQ

theresa1 said:
Just like Anglo the Quinn brand is now damaged beyond repair.
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It is not seem to hurt PMPA too much, at the end of the day if they offer good value and the goverment covers any loses people will still use them.
 
Which Company/Companies/Entities are involved

The company that has been put into administration is Quinn Insurance Limited. This company trades under a variety of trading names/styles including QUINN-direct, QUINN-direct Insurance, Quinn-Insurance and QUINN-healthcare. It is not the same as Quinn Group. So it is correct to say that Quinn Insurance Limited has been put into Administration. It is not correct to say that Quinn Group has been put into administration because it hasn't. Quinn Life is a separate company and has not been put into administration.

Should I be worried if I have an insurance policy with Quinn Insurance Limited (in any of its guises)
Superficially, No is the answer.
However, read the FAQ on the Financial regulator's website [broken link removed]
Consumer Questions and Answers

Am I still covered/is my insurance policy still valid?
As of now it’s business as usual and your policy is valid.

Should I continue to pay my premiums to Quinn?
In order to continue to have cover you need to continue to make premium payments.

I have a claim outstanding with Quinn Insurance Limited, will it be paid?
As of now it’s business as usual and outstanding claims will be treated in the usual manner.

Can I make a claim on my insurance policy?
As of now it’s business as usual so the claims procedure has not changed.

I have a life policy, is it affected?
Quinn Life business is a separate entity. Life products are not affected and are still subject to the terms and conditions under which you purchased them.
Any updates will be available on this website.
The Financial Regulator helpline is available at 1890 777777.
UK residents can call 00353 214800997.
​
The emphasis on the words "As of now" is mine. The answers would be perfectly fine without this emphasis. It was added for a reason. The situation may change and indeed it appears that the regulator expects it to change.

What have I to lose?

A few posters earlier in this thread answered the question "What have I to loose" by saying "nothing other than your premium". This is factually incorrect. Ask anybody who was insured by Independent Insurance which went bust in 2001. You are very much at risk of not having claims paid if you have a claim if Quinn Insurance Limited does not have the money to pay it. See here http://www.fsa.gov.uk/Pages/Library/Communication/PR/2001/072.shtml


What is the core issue

We don't know for sure, but it is definitely significant.

"However, the Central Bank’s new head of financial regulation Matthew Elderfield said yesterday that it has emerged that Quinn Insurance’s financial strength has been overstated to the tune of around €450 million" Read more: http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/bid-...ance-administration-115987.html#ixzz0ji1e6ele "Mr Elderfield stressed the regulator had taken an “independent judgment on whether or not to put it into administration”. Earlier,counsel for the regulator told the court it had concerns about how the insurer conducted its business. It learned eight subsidiaries had guaranteed debts of €1.2 billion owed by the wider Quinn Group between 2005 and 2008 but these only came to light last week. This had “wiped out” the company’s solvency cushion, the court was told, and “significantly breached” the solvency ratios laid down by the regulator to ensure the firm could meet its liabilities. The guarantees had the net effect of reducing Quinn Insurance’s assets by €448 million, leaving the insurer more than €200 million in the red. read more: [broken link removed]
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This is a hole of substantial proportions. This is money which should be available to pay claims. And now it isn't.

Insurers spread risk by sharing with specialist insurance companies known as reinsurers. However in Quinn's case, it has often been suggested that a substantial part of the risk was underwritten by Quinn himself personally, or by the Quinn Group. If this is the case, there is a concern that a block of large claims might not be met if the entity which is ultimately holding the risk (in this case Quinn personally or Quinn Group) is financially stressed.

Sean Quinn's own words are also interesting "Mr Quinn wrote to every member of the Cabinet and the leaders of Fine Gael and Labour, demanding that the action be “rescinded immediately”. He described the regulator’s action as “highly aggressive and unnecessary” and warned it would make repayment of the company’s outstanding debts “extremely difficult” and “endangers 5,500 jobs in Ireland unless immediately reversed”. read more: [broken link removed] The most interesting words are "endangers 5,500 jobs" - this suggests that in Sean Quinn's opinion the entire Quinn Group (5,500 employees in Ireland) is at risk (and not just the Insurance Company which has 2,300 employees) If this is the case, and it is entirely possible if Anglo is demanding repayment and the Insurance bit was propping up the rest of the group through loan guarantees, then there is a big big issue coming down the tracks.

I deal with Quinn Life. Should I be concerned.

Superficially, No is the answer.

However, when you are dealing with a life company, you are not getting anything tangible (e.g. goods) or anything that is measurable in the short term. You are giving them your money, in trust, and relying on them to keep it safe and manage and grow it for you. Trust is essential in this relationship. Would you give your money to a man in the street and ask him to show up in 20 years up give it back to you ? No, you would not. If there are now doubts about the operation of one Quinn Company, do you have good reason to have confidence in another. In the words of the Financial Regulator's Counsel in court yesterday
"Moving the petition, John Hennessy SC, for the regulator, said the Financial Regulator, who has the authority to supervise insurance businesses within the State, had said the application was “urgent” because of concerns about the way the company was conducting its affairs and its abilities to comply with supervisory regulations. The company, Mr Hennessy continued, was unable to comply with the requirements of the supervisory regulations of the 1983 Insurance Act No 2 and had failed to make adequate provisions for its debts, including contingent and prospective liabilities. He also said the manner in which Quinn Insurance was conducting business “was jeopardising and prejudicing the rights and interests of those who have insurance policies with the company”. If Quinn was to continue as at present, there may not be sufficient funds to meet claims under those policies. read more [broken link removed]
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Isn't it interesting that in the week in which we became owners of two banks and two building societies, we could also end up owning an insurnace company, a cement factory, a glass bottle company, various hospitality assets not to mention a quarry in Derrylin
 
According to today's
The regulator raised "very serious concerns" over solvency levels at [broken link removed]'s second biggest insurer -- if it was hit with an influx of claims

...

The [broken link removed] can reveal that the Financial Regulator has been locked in intense negotiations with Quinn Insurance since last December after the insurer indicated it could fall below minimum solvency requirements. ...


The High Court dash wasn't triggered until last Wednesday, when the Financial Regulator learned that assets of Quinn Insurance had been used to guarantee hundreds of millions of the Quinn Group's debt.

...

The guarantees, some of which had been in place since 2005, reduced Quinn Insurance's reserves by €448m and pushed the levels below the regulatory minimum, prompting alarm at the regulator's office.
The regulator then investigated whether Quinn Group's lenders would release the guarantees and allow a €35m injection to shore up the insurer.
When the lenders and bondholders declined, the regulator yesterday asked the High Court to install an administrator to effectively take over the running of the insurance company.

...


The Financial Regulator, who is legally responsible for supervising insurance businesses, told the High Court that Quinn Insurance had "significantly breached" its solvency ratios, had failed to deliver a financial plan aimed at restoring its health and was operating in a way that "was jeopardising and prejudicing the rights and interests of those who have insurance policies with the company".
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I personally would not take out insurance with such a question mark hanging over the company, even if

Despite the moves, both the regulator and the administrators stressed that Quinn Insurance continues to accept new policies and honour existing ones, while [broken link removed] is completely unaffected by the developments.
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This article gives the inside track about how Quinn Insurance Limited only notified the Regulator of a problem with guarantees on 23 March.
 
Brendan said:
I am sure that they don't like it. When Sean Quinn was fined by the Financial Regulator in 2008, I stopped recommending Quinn Life

As a consumer website, it is fair to recount the facts and make recommendations based on them. Others have suggested that there is no problem with either Quinn Insurance or Quinn Life. That is their opinion - I don't agree. When it comes to insurance or investment, the reputation and solvency of the company are critical.

Brendan
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I remember seeing you on RTE in September/October 2009 saying basically the Irish banks were solvent and soundly run. Why back the banks yet pick on Quinn ?
 
bullworth said:
I remember seeing you on RTE in September/October 2009 saying basically the Irish banks were solvent and soundly run. Why back the banks yet pick on Quinn ?
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That was September 2008. I believed that they were solvent but running into a liquidity problem. A run on a solvent bank can kill it off.

Not renewing your insurance with a company over which there are doubts, does not cause a run.
 
Brendan said:
That was September 2008. I believed that they were solvent but running into a liquidity problem. A run on a solvent bank can kill it off.

Not renewing your insurance with a company over which there are doubts, does not cause a run.
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It can start a run on profits and the ability to repay its debts if people start canceling their business with Quinn as a result of something they saw in a forum then it certainly would affect the income and hence the ability of Quinn group to pay its debts and therefore endanger a lot of jobs. Thats' what worries me the most. God knows we need indigenous companies and indigenous employment in Ireland. When I consider all the money we gave in grant aid to companies like Dell who abandoned Ireland it just worries me if the company itself will be damaged somehow.

As for Quinn himself. I don't consider we know him that well really since the RTE portrayal had him pegged as not a gambler but I personally think he gave far more to the country than the property developers and me feiners inside the Galway Races tent.


Note: My only connection with Quinn group is having less than 10k in a tracker fund currently in cash with Quinn Life.
 
bullworth said:
It can start a run on profits and the ability to repay its debts if people start canceling their business with Quinn as a result of something they saw in a forum then it certainly would affect the income and hence the ability of Quinn group to pay its debts and therefore endanger a lot of jobs. Thats' what worries me the most. God knows we need indigenous companies and indigenous employment in Ireland. When I consider all the money we gave in grant aid to companies like Dell who abandoned Ireland it just worries me if the company itself will be damaged somehow.

As for Quinn himself. I don't consider we know him that well really since the RTE portrayal had him pegged as not a gambler but I personally think he gave far more to the country than the property developers and me feiners inside the Galway Races tent.


Note: My only connection with Quinn group is having less than 10k in a tracker fund currently in cash with Quinn Life.
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Two years ago Mr Quinn was forced (by a totally inept and "light touch" regulator) to resign his position of chairman.
In addition Mr Quinn and his company were fined by the regulator for the failures of the management.
If an Insurance company does not have the proper levels of solvency they cannot underwrite business Mr Quinn and his company know this and in the intervening two years nothing was done to correct the problem.

Whilst we need indigenous companies they need to be run and managed properly and in the case of insurance companies there are strict rules which Mr Quinn chose to ignore.

I would suggest that people read [broken link removed](05/04/2010 business section)
which paints a realistic picture.

Please also note that there are new solvency requirements coming into place for insurance companies and even for the best run insurers this will cause difficulties but for the likes of Quinn if they survive next week will be the death knell for them.
 
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