Quinn administrators set to develop proposals

THE ADMINISTRATORS of Quinn Insurance Ltd are expected to spend this week working on a detailed actuarial examination of its …

THE ADMINISTRATORS of Quinn Insurance Ltd are expected to spend this week working on a detailed actuarial examination of its commercial lines of business in the UK before presenting proposals to the Financial Regulator about re-entering parts of this market.

It is understood this work could take up to 10 days to complete. A business plan for the commercial lines in the UK is likely to be presented to the regulator some time next week.

The regulator has already allowed the administrators – Grant Thornton’s Paul McCann and Michael McAteer – to re-enter the UK motor market. They now want to return Quinn to profitable elements of the commercial market, which is broker-driven.

The administrators last week announced plans to make 900 Quinn Insurance staff redundant.

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Minister for Enterprise Batt O’Keeffe said yesterday he and Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith had met the Quinn administrators last Friday night.

“We have a very viable company, an outstanding workforce and I have put in all of the agencies available to me now to set up a one-stop shop in each of the areas that are affected,” he told RTÉ radio.

“They will be there from Tuesday morning. The IDA, Enterprise Ireland . . . will be available for discussion.

“There might be opportunities for people with particular skills to start up companies themselves, and the agencies will be there to help in that regard.”

Asked who might buy the business, he said: “The administrators are in charge – they have to look, through the court, at the long-term viability of the company, to ensure that they save as many jobs as possible and must ensure that whatever group is put in place will be to the satisfaction of the constraints of the regulator.”