The status of the professional indemnity insurance (PII) policies of more than 2,900 law firms and sole practitioners has today been thrown into uncertainty after the Irish High Court appointed permanent administrators to Irish insurer Quinn Insurance.

The Law Society said that its advice to Quinn Insurance policyholders was unchanged, in that they need not take any action. It is understood that the Solicitors Regulation Authority will make a statement on the matter shortly.

The Irish Financial Regulator, which regulates Quinn Insurance, said that Quinn can still settle UK claims. The Financial Regulator said that it is continuing to investigate Quinn Insurance’s use of certain financial guarantees (see earlier article).

Quinn Insurance provides more than 10% of the solicitors’ profession with PII.

A statement on the Quinn Insurance website says: ‘The board of directors of [Quinn Insurance] announce that it has been decided to withdraw its objection to the petition for the appointment of joint administrators to the company.’

Quinn Insurance chair Jim Quigley said: ‘This decision has been taken after very careful consideration. We have concluded that, given what has happened, it is in the best interests of the company, our employees and policyholders that, as a matter of urgency, we work closely with the administrators and the Financial Regulator to get the situation resolved as quickly as possible. In particular, we would hope that working together we can find a way to recommence business in the UK.’

A spokesman for Quinn Group said: ‘Quinn Group fully supports the decision of the [Quinn Insurance] board and looks forward to working with the administrators and the Financial Regulator to find a constructive solution for all stakeholders and, in particular, our employees. We continue to pursue a number of options and are confident that a solution will be found to secure the long-term future of the business.’

The Financial Regulator convinced the High Court to have provisional administrators appointed to Quinn Insurance on 30 March. The judge today appointed Paul McCann and Michael McAteer of Grant Thornton as permanent administrators.

There will be another hearing on the matter on 20 May.