Quinn Administration Confirmed

Quinn Insurance has dropped its opposition to the appointment of administrators today and, as a result, Grant Thornton has been confirmed as administrator of the company by the Irish High Court. In our view this is classed as an Insolvency Event under the SRA’s Qualifying Insurer Agreement. Unless the SRA waives the Event under 19.1 of the Agreement then firms of solicitors holding professional indemnity insurance with Quinn will be required to obtain alternative cover within 28 days. The impact will be significant as firms may well see premiums soar. It is possible that some will not be able to obtain alternative quotes at all in which case the Assigned Risks Pool will be the only option if the firm wishes to continue to trade.

The SRA explicitly states that it does not vet or approve the qualifying insurers and a hard look should be taken at the advice given to firms by their insurance brokers.