ADMINISTRATORS:THE JOINT provisional administrators of Quinn Insurance Limited (QIL) began their first full day of work at the troubled Cavan-based company yesterday.
It is understood that Paul McCann and Michael McAteer of Grant Thornton, along with other members of their corporate recovery team, spoke to executives of QIL in a series of meetings yesterday as they seek to get to grips with the challenges facing the business.
This followed a number of meetings late into Tuesday night, directly after their appointment by the High Court, after the regulator had raised concerns about the insurer’s solvency ratios.
QIL’s executives now report to the joint provisional administrators.
Neither Mr McCann nor Mr McAteer would comment on the provisional administration process yesterday.
Both men are keen to remain under the radar, especially as their appointment remains provisional at this point. A full hearing before the High Court is pencilled in for April 12th.
The administrators are believed to be playing down talk of a sale of QIL at this point in the process.
It is understood, however, that they expect their role could last for several years.
One industry source highlighted how the administration of PMPA, which collapsed in 1983, is still technically live.
Rival insurers were yesterday reporting an increase in customer inquiries, but it is understood that there has been no major outflow of policies from QIL since the regulator’s move on Tuesday.
Quinn Group said yesterday that QIL’s policyholders “should continue to deal with us as usual”.
The Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan told the Dáil yesterday that Quinn Insurance was in a position to meet any claims arising from its policies.
