On 15 April 2010, the High Court confirmed the appointment of a full-time administrator to Quinn Insurance, Ireland’s second largest insurance company. Though the Quinn Group briefly fought against the proposed administration, it ultimately withdrew its objection and conceded the appointment. The insurance company is now being run by two outside managers, who will run the business as a going concern in an effort to get it back on a secure financial footing.
The administration of the Quinn Group has led to a flurry of interest from potential buyers of the Group, though any proposed sale is likely to be strongly resisted. Outside of Ireland, Quinn Insurance insures almost three thousand firms across England and Wales, a business which procures £24.5 million in premiums. The administration of the group instantly lead to speculation in the UK that an exit by Quinn Insurance from the UK market altogether could lead to the collapse of the assigned risk pool, which is funded by insurers in the professional indemnity sector.
However, the regulator has already allowed the Quinn Group to re-enter the UK motor market. In addition, the administrators have submitted to the regulator a detailed actuarial examination of the group’s commercial lines of business in the UK in an effort to re-enter profitable areas of the commercial market.