Quinn Insurance: Administrators appointed

Melodeon

Just heard this on the radio news.

I think a fair few people here are insured through Quinn; don't know what this might mean for them, if anything.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0330/quinn.html

Administrators appointed to Quinn Insurance
Tuesday, 30 March 2010 11:56

The High Court has appointed two joint provisional administrators to the Quinn Insurance Group.

Mr Justice John Cooke made the order following an application by lawyers on behalf of the Financial Regulator.

The application was made under the 1983 Insurance act.

The court heard the Regulator took this action following serious concerns about the way the group was managing its affairs.

On NewsTalk now:
http://media.newstalk.ie/listen_live/

ronanc15

with a bit of luck it won't have a knock on affect for policyholders, (i also am one). There were signs of this coming for the last year or so though.

KamiKazi

This could be bad for motorcyclists as Quinn are the only insurance company that will insure first time bikers without having to jump through a load of hoops

thehomeofDob

Yupp, their the only ones that will give me a decent quote on the bike (21yr, 1yr ncb, full license). The other three either won't quote or charge 4 times what Quinn do. I don't like them as a company, but I kinda need them for the next few years.

Tigger

my insurance company for my bike went bust in 2000 that ment i got a letter telling me my liabality was no longer covered

rebel.ranter

It will not only be the Quinn customers who would suffer if the business goes under. With less options in the market the others have a more dominant position & it will be easier fro them to increase prices.

KamiKazi

rebel.ranter wrote: »

It will not only be the Quinn customers who would suffer if the business goes under. With less options in the market the others have a more dominant position & it will be easier fro them to increase prices.

True

Atomic Pineapple

Tigger wrote: »

my insurance company for my bike went bust in 2000 that ment i got a letter telling me my liabality was no longer covered

feck, did you get any money back?

Jip

I can't imagine it going under, at worse I would expect someone to buy the book from them.

This may be bad news to the aforementioned bikers and young drivers though as it may mean an increase in rates to fund either the current solvency issues or to help anyone pay for the book if they do purchase it.

However due to their poor reputation I haven't looked for a quote from them in over 10 years and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

keithclancy

Tigger wrote: »

my insurance company for my bike went bust in 2000 that ment i got a letter telling me my liabality was no longer covered

That was the underwriters for Carrol and Nash. I remember that too
Think their new underwriter was AIG ?

Boom_Bap

the report on RTE says that the renewal and issuing of policies is not affected.

Tigger

draffodx wrote: »

feck, did you get any money back?

no the company was gone

at the time i was just outa college and had borrowed fro the boi to pay the insurance

had to re insure

Tigger

Boom_Bap wrote: »

the report on RTE says that the renewal and issuing of policies is not affected.

as i say i've been through this before
when the underwriters that carole and nash were using in 200 went under they were taking on new business a week before (mabey even more ) they folded i know because a mate of mine had just taken a policy
if people stop taking out busin3ess (which the will) then the company will fold

unless the giovt decides to back them lol

jomc

the girlfriend is always going on about getting insured through a broker, she uses one and finds it very good but i always went straight to quinn. brokers might be able to get better rates though than us ordinary joes???

does anyone know where this leaves quinn policy holders

Jip

Nobody knows yet, it all depends on what the administrators find and decide to do.

Edit, one of the administrators is going to be on the News at 1 now on Radio 1.

Cionád

Jip wrote: »

However due to their poor reputation I haven't looked for a quote from them in over 10 years and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

They have/had themselves a certain niche where they were so much cheaper than the competition that poor customer service becomes almost irrelevant.

I've had them for the first 5 years of my driving and have had no problems other than multiple letters for renewal after I'd already renewed. Each year they were substantially cheaper, and in year one they were one of only a few companys to quote me due to engine size - Which is outrageous for a non-turbo diesel car

I'll probably leave them this year as with 5 years NCB the market no longer treats me as a leper, but I hope the business doesn't go under.

Run_to_da_hills

Tigger wrote: »

my insurance company for my bike went bust in 2000 that meant i got a letter telling me my liability was no longer covered

I think half the country still rode around on those policies until they expired.

Jip

Yeah, I acknowledged what their target group was, and you appear lucky enough to never having to claim. It's then when their poor service becomes apparent.

Cionád

Jip wrote: »

Yeah, I acknowledged what their target group was, and you appear lucky enough to never having to claim. It's then when their poor service becomes apparent.

It's difficult to crash such a slow car

jomc

anyone listening to radio one now? what is the administrator saying

skippy2

i think its a case of sit and wait to see what happens in the next day or so

just great , family policy is due for renewal tomorrow:p

and we need it due to illness......what to do

are you covered if you do not renew and pay on the renewal date but leave it go for a few days/weeks......dont really want to pay over a full renewal premium and find its dissappeared in a couple of weeks and we have no cover

Flesh Gorden

a bit more info here

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0330/breaking32.html

The regulator has launched an investigation into the matter with staff from the regulator’s office on site at Quinn Insurance’s offices in Cavan. The investigation was initiated after certain matters “very recently came to light”. The regulatory staff on site will “oversee its actions and to work with the new management,” the regulator said.

It’s understood the subsidiaries of Quinn Insurance gave guarantees to the value of €448 million in favour of bondholders of the Quinn Group who have provided large sums of money to the wider Quinn Group business. This in turn reduced the insurance company’s solvency cushion.

The matter came to light when the issue was raised by a third party acting on behalf of a creditor of the group which was reviewing its exposure to the wider Quinn business. The company then notified the regulator of the matter last week.

The bondholders were owed €1.3 billion at the end of 2008, according to group’s most recent accounts. The group also owes more than €2.5 billion to State-owned Anglo Irish Bank.

caesar

Posted this up on BMW-Driver.Net....not typing it again

This worries me a small bit, not as a quinn customer but as someone who is studying insurance (yes there is a degree in it) and going to be working in the industry next year.

Solvency II probably cant come quick enough in many respects but its only in the implementation stages.

What worries me is how the regulator is now throwing about its weight. The light touch regulation that was the cornerstone of financial services coming to the country in years gone by has come under serious fire. The regulators here were heavily criticised for what happened in banking and rightly so imo. However heavily coming down on insurers would be a bad and dangerous move.

I hope this approach with Quinn is not solely for the purposes of demonstrating to the public and the markets that our regulators are finally doing something.

Ever since the rescue of AIG, industry experts have warned that banking and insurance are not the same and that regulators should continue to consider them as such. AIGs operations were rescued because of the strength of their core insurance activities. Very few insurers failed. In fact they continued to do business with each other and with their customers at the height of the financial crisis. In any case the insurance industry has welcomed solvency II. I just hope on a European level, that the implementors stick with it.

If Quinn go under they will not be bailed out, they are not big enough in the scheme of things. I, like a lot of people knew they were not the most resilient insurers. They announced some time ago that they would only apply for a credit rating when the time was right......I dont think it ever will be. Having said that the majority of insurers are more credit worthy than the government

All in all, I feel the regulator are taking a precautionary measure which may prove to be a prudent move.

As a customer, I wouldn't worry just yet

Some basic info on Solvency II here if you want to read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solvency_II

thebiglad

skippy2 wrote: »

i think its a case of sit and wait to see what happens in the next day or so

just great , family policy is due for renewal tomorrow:p

and we need it due to illness......what to do

are you covered if you do not renew and pay on the renewal date but leave it go for a few days/weeks......dont really want to pay over a full renewal premium and find its dissappeared in a couple of weeks and we have no cover

Best to move the cover somewhere else unless Quinn rates are so good.

Else set up to pay by 12 instalments - that way you can never be too much out of pocket if the worst happens.

Tigger

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

I think half the country still rode around on those policies until they expired.

i have no idea what your talking about







although when i renewed my tax i had to argue the dif between a valid and a current certificate of insurance

wingnut

Thats me screwed. I has a claim last year with Quinn but my no claims discount was protected. If I have to move now I will be in trouble. Between this, pay cuts and AIB interest rates I am really getting it from all angles!!

dicknorris

The financial regulator will run the company as a going concern until such time as he finds a buyer for the company and will then sell it off to another insurance company

Tigger

how do you know this

katana1

My insurance is also with Quinn.
It's due on the 9th of April.After getting a crazy quote of 390(Over 40 clean full licence -no p points etc). I got a quote from another company of 280 and rang Quinn back. They came back with a counter quote of 270 which I accepted but after reading this thread I will take the 12 month DD option -Just in case anything happens.
Thanks to the OP for the heads up:)

Jip

dicknorris wrote: »

The financial regulator will run the company as a going concern until such time as he finds a buyer for the company and will then sell it off to another insurance company

The financial regulator won't have anything to do with it afaik, it's down to the two high court appointed administrators who will run the company as best they can while some form of plan is put in place to either rescue the company or get a buyer in.

edit: Just to say that at the time I never realised that the financial regulator was the one that had gone to the high court to seek administration so he will have something to say about it after all.