Ambition in the UK

Despite its troubles with the regulator in Ireland, Quinn is confident about its future in the UK.

The Irish insurance company was fined 3.25m fine last October after breaches of regulatory requirements and its owner and chairman Sean Quinn faced a €200,000 penalty and was forced to step down from the insurer’s board.

Earlier this month, the insurer reshuffled its board of directors and is now set for a drive in the UK market. The move comes shortly after it stopped writing new insurance business at its European operations in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

It has big plans for its London office and expansion in the South of England.

“We are very optimistic about the UK market,” said Quinn Insurance commercial director Richard Stafford. “Our focus for 2009 is to grow there.”

The insurer has about 750 broker agencies but wants to grow by building relationships with brokers at a local level in and around the London region.

It currently has 10 staff at its London office on Cornhill, which it established in July, but plans to increase that number to 30. Along with its Manchester base, it is planning an assault on the UK market as it attempts to grow its market share in commercial lines from 2% to 5%.

It is also plans to roll out new online SME trading platform to the UK broker market. The online tradesmen’s liability offering has already been launched as a pilot scheme amongst 10 brokers and if successful it will be officially launched using the Acturis platform later this year.

See also: Five things you didn't know about... (Colin Morgan, chief executive, Quinn Insurance) & this week's story.