Failed insurance companies rack up €1.4bn bill

The insurance fund into which policyholders have contributed hundreds of millions of euro made payments totalling €1.4bn to cover failed insurers over the last five years.

The Insurance Compensation Fund (ICF) was set up to protect policyholders whose claims couldn’t be met by their insurers in cases where the companies had become insolvent.

While insurers support the fund through payments determined by the Central Bank, in reality policyholders pick up the tab as companies tend to pass the charges onto customers.