Quinn Insurance, which provides cover for one in five motorists in Ireland, has reported operating losses of €127m for last year.
This is according to draft, unaudited accounts filed with the Central Bank and the Financial Regulator for the Insurance Statistical Review for 2009. The company said the audit for its figures for 2009 is not yet complete and so the figures are subject to change.
The Quinn Group overall owes Anglo Irish Bank about €3 billion, and the administrators of its insurance business say challenging conditions in 2009 affected its profitability.
Hit by both the health insurance levy and the cost of covering claims to do with last winter's bad weather, Quinn Insurance - which is in administration - says home and motor premiums are likely to increase by double digit pecentage figures in the next couple of months.
Its administrators say the firm is performing robustly, but when certain assets are written down the annual loss amounts to €788m.
The bulk of the loss, at €677m, stems from a charge to do with Quinn's controversial inter-group guarantees that pushed Quinn Insurance into administration last Spring.
'As part of the administration process, Quinn Insurance Limited has fully reviewed the business with its actuarial team, and is satisfied that all business segments, in all jurisdictions in which it operates, are now profitable,' a statement from the company says.
The figures for Quinn are contained in the Central Bank's Insurance Statistical Review for 2009, which shows that insurance companies in Ireland made combined losses of €124m in 2009 compared with profits of €122m the year before.
Read more on the review here
The losses in the once very lucrative sector suggest premium hikes across the board in coming months.
