Quinn Insurance draws down another €60m from Insurance Compensation Fund

The High Court has approved an application by the joint administrators of Quinn Insurance Ltd for drawdown of another €60 million from the State's Insurance Compensation Fund, increasing to €1.118 billion the funds approved for drawdown.

The court also heard the sale of three hotel properties has been agreed to a combined value of €67 million and was expected to conclude shortly.

Bernard Dunleavy, for the administrators, said they had settled claims for the first four months of 2013 for some €14.5 million less than the sums they had reserved to meet those claims.

An additional €40 million had been saved following the successful conclusion of a dispute between the administrators and Liberty Insurance concerning the methodology for calculating the assets of Quinn Insurance Ltd, he said.

The hedging of its sterling exposure up to 2015 would also protect against fluctuations in the price of sterling in circumstances where all UK claims against Quinn Insurance were paid in sterling, the court heard.

Mr Dunleavy yesterday presented the 13th report of the joint administrators Michael McAteer and Paul McCann of Grant Thornton, appointed in March 2010, to the president of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns.

The judge approved their application for the additional €60 million drawdown from the Insurance Compensation Fund, bringing the total approved for drawdown to €1.118 billion.

The administrators told the court in July 2012 they considered a total €1.65 billion drawdown from the fund would be a “worst-case scenario”.

Quinn Insurance Ltd’s Irish business, except healthcare, was sold in a deal involving US insurance giant Liberty Insurance last year.