Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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93. To ask the Minister for Finance the number and value of claims remaining outstanding from the liquidation of a company (details supplied); the number of persons that have received compensation from the insurance compensation fund (ICF) since the Supreme Court decision on the matter; the average proportion of the total claims these persons received from both the liquidation process and the ICF; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41194/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Setanta Insurance was placed into liquidation by the Malta Financial Services Authority on 30 April 2014. As it was a Maltese incorporated company, the liquidation is being carried out under Maltese law.

As you are aware, the Supreme Court delivered its judgment on 25 May 2017 and overturned the previous decisions of the High Court and the Court of Appeal that the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) is liable in respect of third party motor insurance claims made against the policyholders of Setanta Insurance. The consequence of this is that the Insurance Compensation Fund (ICF) has been deemed responsible for the payment of such third party claims.

As the judgment has been delivered, the process of making payments in accordance with the provisions of the Insurance Act, 1964, as amended, has commenced. Payments can only be made out of the ICF, with the approval of the High Court and only if it appears to the High Court that it is unlikely that the claim can be met otherwise than from the ICF. If satisfied, the High Court can order payments out of the ICF up to 65% (or €825,000, whichever is the lesser) due to relevant claimants. 

In this regard, an Order was granted in the High Court on Monday 24 July 2017 in relation to 324 claims which were subsequently paid by the Office of the Accountant of the Courts of Justice. The total value paid out of the ICF in relation to those claimants was €6.5 million being 65% of the total value of the settled claims in accordance with the legislation.

The liquidator for Setanta Insurance has informed me that as of 31 August 2017, there are 1,576 active claims, of these 573 claimants have been paid compensation from the ICF subject to the 65%/€825,000 limits. The liquidator continues to work through claims to be included in the next application to the High Court scheduled to be made in February 2018 in accordance with the legislation. 

The Liquidator commissioned actuarial consultants, Willis Towers Watson, to carry out an analysis of Setanta Insurance's claims reserves as at 30 June 2017 and this has now been completed. The report estimates the claims reserves at between €105.9 million and €112.9 million. This is an increase from the first report in 2014, which estimated the claims reserves at between €87.7 million and €95.2 million.

A consequence of this is that based on this actuarial report, the liquidator now estimates that he will not be in a position to meet more than 22% of the claims out of the assets of the liquidation once all matters in the liquidation have been concluded, rather than the not more  than 30% of claims figure previously indicated. 

My Department is currently considering the implications of this actuarial report. In addition, you should note as previously indicated that there is also a legal concern that any Government intervention could undermine the priority status of claimants in the liquidation. The Department of Finance is therefore seeking legal advice on the impact on the State's ability to recover from the liquidated company if it were to compensate third party claimants.