Quinn health price tag: €20m?

The Quinn Group could make up to €20m by selling its healthcare business with the insurance arm - the two trade as separate companies but their businesses are interlinked, the Irish Independent reports.

Quinn Insurance provides all the underwriting, or core insurance functions, to Quinn Healthcare, which acts as a brokerage and sales network.

Cash from the health insurance sale will go to the Quinn Group, which is owned by the family of Sean Quinn.

No Quinn financial services

The independent quotes an unnamed sources saying: "The Quinn family has decided to get out of the financial services business. It wouldn't make sense to sell the health-broker network and under-writing separately, so we're doing it together."

Healthcare will be included in a sales prospectus that will be circulated to would-be buyers next week.

One senior insurance source last night suggested the brokerage network could command a pricetag of close to €20m in its own right. The figure assumes the brokerage makes annual income of €30m from selling €300m worth of Quinn Healthcare policies and charging a 10% commission rate.

Brokerages typically make profit margins of about 30%, implying €10m annual profits at the health business. "If you paid twice earnings, then you'd get to €20m," he said.

FSA consulted

Ireland’s Financial Regulator Matthew Elderfield will consult the Financial Services Authority, before allowing Quinn Insurance to resume writing commercial insurance in the UK, the Irish Tribune reports.