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 City of London watchdog has hit three HSBC firms with fines totalling £3.2m (€3.69m) after losing the details of thousands of customers in the post and putting them at risk of identity fraud.

British banking giant HSBC has said it is teaming up with Norwich Union in an attempt to improve its lacklustre performance in the insurance sector.