Qudos Insurance liquidation
Deputy Calleary raised Qudos Insurance entering liquidation and warned that many policyholders could be left without cover or claims paid. The Tánaiste said brokers were being told to move customers to other providers quickly and that the claims issue remained under review.
In this morning's Irish Independent we read the news that Qudos Insurance, an insurance underwriting company which underwrites 50,000 people in this country, has gone into liquidation and may not be in a position to pay out on any existing claims. This is eerily similar to the Setanta story from a number of years ago, which has still not been resolved. Insurance is another matter about which the Government is putting its head in the sand. What plans are there to deal with the Qudos Insurance situation? What plans does the Government have to ask the Central Bank to take a hold of the insurance industry and give stability and certainty to policyholders?
Comment on this
There are between 40,000 and 50,000 policyholders here whose insurance policies are underwritten by Qudos operating under the name Patrona Underwriting limited. On its website today, the company makes clear that people who have insurance with it should contact their brokers. The insurance industry has been in contact with brokers to ensure that people can transfer, free of charge, their premiums from Qudos to another insurance provider. Companies and individuals should do that without delay because Qudos has indicated it is not paying out on insurance claims. The actual issue around claims must be clarified, including whether the claims can be covered under an Irish or Danish compensation fund. The company is regulated by a Danish regulator rather than an Irish one.