If you are insured with Setanta Insurance

Rang my broker. They don't know whether I'm covered or not. They told me to hang tough.

Just rang the Central Bank and they read me a statement. I am covered until I get an official cancellation notice from Setanta.
 
PaddyBloggit said:
Rang my broker. They don't know whether I'm covered or not. They told me to hang tough.

Just rang the Central Bank and they read me a statement. I am covered until I get an official cancellation notice from Setanta.
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Might not be much good to you if they can't pay their claims.

I see mention being made that this might lead to a claim being made to the Irish Insurance Compensation Fund as well which culd mean yet another levy. Why? They were regulated in Malta and will be liquidated in Malta. I would have thought the fund was only responsible for Irish regulated entities.
 
I can see the MIBI being saddled with any open claims outstanding.
 
I wouldn't hang at all.

They will not be paying claims. Or more correctly, there is a big risk that they won't be paying claims.

You should see about getting replacement cover immediately, especially if you don't have long to go to renewal.

Brendan
 
Does anyone know if you have insuremyvan cover was that Setanta? Just received this email, thank heavens for that

[FONT=&quot]I would like to personally [FONT=&quot]reassure[/FONT] you that, at Insuremyvan.ie, [FONT=&quot]none of our clients have been or will be affected[/FONT] by this. We have never placed cover for any of our clients with Setanta Insurances.[/FONT]
 
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Seems bizarre that this kind of situation is prevented by regulation.

Is there no regulatory oversight that ensures that customers who have paid for insurance once don't have to pay for it a second time?
 
I have taken out a new policy and cancelled Setanta.

No point in being covered legally if the money ain't there to cover any potential claims.

I made sure that the insurer is regulated by the Central Bank this time!
 
RainyDay said:
Seems bizarre that this kind of situation is prevented by regulation.

Is there no regulatory oversight that ensures that customers who have paid for insurance once don't have to pay for it a second time?
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Companies go bust all the time.

What is bizarre is that the Irish taxpayer bailed out the policyholders of PMPA, ICI and Quinn.
 
Obviously I'm just a stupid consumer Brendan, but I thought the point of financial regulators was to stop this kind of thing (insolvent trading of insurers)?

I am really off to find that I will have to pay twice for insurance that I secured through a broker that is regulated by the professional association. The broker cannot tell me if it is safe to even drive the van. They will not be able to get any quotes until sometime tomorrow.
 
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Irish taxpayer had to cough up for ICI, PMPA and Quinn. Interestingly, Irish taxpayer also looks after the UK policyholders of Quinn.

When the UK company Independent went bust, the UK authorities did NOT look after the Irish policyholders.

I presume that the Maltese taxpayer will do the honourable thing here and look after us??????????????
 
imogen said:
Obviously I'm just a stupid consumer Brendan, but I thought the point of financial regulators was to stop this kind of thing (insolvent trading of insurers)?
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Understandable view, but the role of the regulators is to regulate and not to guarantee.

Brendan
 
Brendan Burgess said:
What is bizarre is that the Irish taxpayer bailed out the policyholders of PMPA, ICI and Quinn.
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Did the State bailout the policyholders, or the owners of ICI? Or maybe both. I can't quite recall the detail.

Brendan Burgess said:
Understandable view, but the role of the regulators is to regulate and not to guarantee.
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I would expect the State/regulator to be able to protect policyholders.

If your holiday company goes bust while you're abroad, the State/regulator has a bonding system in place to get you home.

If someone has paid for their insurance for a year in a regulated business, I would expect that there is a facility to ensure that you don't have to pay twice.
 
is there a list of other insurance companies from overseas operating here that could end up in this position leaving us uninsured ?
 
johnwilliams said:
is there a list of other insurance companies from overseas operating here that could end up in this position leaving us uninsured ?
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I would like to know this too. I am insured with Setanta through a broker. I wonder now why my broker recommended a company to me that isn't covered by Irish law. Have I any comeback from my broker?
 
RainyDay said:
Did the State bailout the policyholders, or the owners of ICI? Or maybe both. I can't quite recall the detail.
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The policyholders and the people with claims against them were paid in full at the expense of the taxpayer.

It was a limited liability company which was a subsidiary of AIB. AIB was happy to let it go into liquidation, but I think it was persuaded to contribute to the cost of bailing out the policyholders.



I would expect the State/regulator to be able to protect policyholders.
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They try to protect them through regulation. But banks, insurance companies and other businesses do go bust. If the state guarantees every company, we would be in an even bigger mess than we are at present.


If your holiday company goes bust while you're abroad, the State/regulator has a bonding system in place to get you home.
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I don't think so. Each holiday company must be bonded, i.e. they have an insurance policy in place, so that if they go bust, the insurance company pays for the customer to get home.


If someone has paid for their insurance for a year in a regulated business, I would expect that there is a facility to ensure that you don't have to pay twice.
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I wouldn't. Some depositors put their money in the Post Office because they did not trust Anglo or Irish Nationwide who were paying much higher rates. Likewise, some people are wary of insurance companies which are not well known. The likes of Standard Life and Rabo make a big deal of their financial stability. They would take far more risks if they knew that the state would bail out every failed business.


Don't forget it's not some "external" state. It's the taxpayer. I am paying enough for the bailout of Anglo's and Irish Nationwide's depositors. I certainly don't want to be bailing you out for your foreign holidays or for the losses you suffered from your cheap insurance.
 
Not for me ... just as competitive as the rest. I just accepted my broker's advice and went with Setanta.
 


I see the point, but I'm not sure it's fair to expect your average car insurance customer to be able to assess the financial strength of a Maltese company.

Maybe we need some kind of bonding, or insurance of insurers? I know the cost of this will ultimately be borne by the consumers, but perhaps it is an inevitable cost.

Is there a better role around advertising? Is this where the small print of 'Regulated by the Irish Financial Services Authority' or whatever comes into play, with perhaps a more meaningful message for consumers?
 
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