June hearing on Quinn Insurance transfer

A proposal for the transfer and sale to Catalina Insurance Ireland Ltd of 1.3m general insurance policies, held mainly by UK-based customers of Quinn Insurance Ltd (QIL) will go before the High Court for approval in June.

The joint administrators of QIL are seeking the court’s approval for the sale to Catalina Insurance Ireland Ltd (CII) of the run-off of the QIL portfolio of 1.3m policies, representing the last remaining insurance business of QIL, which was placed in administration in 2010.

More than 1,043,000 of the affected policies were written in England, Scotland, and Wales; 274,000 in the North; 700 in Belgium; 1,300 in the Netherlands; and 68 in Germany. The president of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, made various directions, including for the advertisement of the petition seeking the sale and returned the matter for hearing on June 5.

QIL ceased writing new business in Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands in 2009, and in the UK in late 2012. The run-off of the UK business was managed by insurer Liberty for QIL under a transitional services agreement.

Some of the policies to be transferred to Catalina under the proposed scheme have been the subject of reinsurance arrangements which will not be altered following transfer except that QIL’s rights and obligations under the reinsurance contracts will be transferred to Catalina.

In an affidavit, one of the joint administrators, Michael McAteer, said the proposed transfer is being undertaken due to the position of QIL and to effect “an orderly and advantageous” unwinding of the insurer’s business and remaining policies. Having considered the scheme with the benefit of initial advice from an independent actuary engaged to report on it, Mr McAteer said he was satisfied that the holders of the transferring policies would not be adversely affected as a result of the scheme.

The UK business comprises mostly motor policies but also includes some 23,000 household policies and more than 46,000 commercial non-motor policies, he said. The number of outstanding claims by the end of September 2014 was 2,317 of which only 30 related to the non-UK policies, he added. On that date, QIL’s total reserves amounted to €461m, he said.

Mr McAteer said Catalina, under its former name HSBC Insurance (Ireland Limited) is authorised to carry on non-life insurance business in Ireland. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Catalina Group, a consolidator of non-life inurance and reinsurance companies and portfolios in run-off.