Insurance firm collapse leaves 50,000 with worthless policies

FIANNA Fáil finance spokesperson Michael McGrath has expressed concern after news broke that Qudos Insurance, a Danish underwriter, has gone into liquidation – leaving up to 50,000 Irish customers with worthless insurance on their homes and cars.

Mr McGrath said that there must be a mechanism by which Irish people can have redress when foreign insurance companies go into liquidation. ‘At this point we do not know the exposure to the Irish market, and I call on the Minister for Finance, the Central Bank and the liquidator to provide clarity in this respect as soon as possible,’ he said.

The TD added: ‘The Central Bank has urged customers to check their insurance and “strongly recommends” current customers to arrange alternative insurance cover.

‘Otherwise, the reality is that motorists face the prospect of having no insurance policy at all in place.’

Mr McGrath said too many insurance firms have failed and that there must be an end to ‘passporting’, whereby companies operating in Ireland are protected by laws in other EU countries.

‘Sadly, we have been here before with the failures of Setanta and Enterprise Insurance, which were both regulated in other EU jurisdictions... Clearly, urgent steps need to be taken at a European level to ensure that customers are fully protected,’ he said. ‘Right now, in the case of Qudos, [Finance] Minister [Paschal] Donohoe needs to reassure customers and claimants here. We need to know exactly what the exposure here is in Ireland. How many customers are affected and how many outstanding claims are there for Irish claimants?

‘These are key questions that need answering and I will be seeking answers in the coming days.’

Insurance Ireland has advised customers to check with their insurance companies and get alternative insurance if required. It is still not known if Irish customers will be protected following the collapse.