A liquidator has been appointed to Setanta Insurance, after its financial collapse in the middle of April.  Paul Mercieca has been given responsibility for the administration of the company’s assets and liabilities.

Although based in Dublin, the company is licensed by the Maltese Financial Services Authority, which is likely to complicate the winding down of the company. However, the Irish Central Bank said it expected the liquidator to be in contact with Setanta policyholders and creditors shortly.

The collapse of Setanta has caused major concerns to many Irish bodyshops who have completed work for Setanta insured drivers and are awaiting payment for the repairs. The exact details of how the administration of the company will be handled are as yet unclear, so it is too early to definitively say if and when repair payments can be made.

There is a frequently asked questions section on the Setanta website, which does provide some useful information. It says;

“The liquidator will put in place a process for dealing with all pending and future insurance claims. He will also set up the necessary processes to deal with other creditors' claims. In this regard, he will have full access to information from the Company's records. Existing policies are still in force, but full payments of claims by the Company cannot be guaranteed.”

The section also says;

“All payments of claims are currently suspended and payments may only be made after the liquidator has determined all the liabilities of the Company. This exercise is likely to take considerable time.”

The indications are that full payment to repairers cannot be guaranteed and that there will be considerable delays in these being made. However, although licensed in Malta Setanta does fall under the authority of the Irish Insurance Compensation Fund, which is administered by the High Court. This fund can pay out up to 65% of the value of a claim. This compensation will only become available once the liquidator has fully established the exact financial position of Setanta.

What should bodyshops owed money do?

In the first instance it would be prudent to write (using registered post) to Setanta providing full details of any monies outstanding, enclosing all relevant details such as copy invoices and requesting acknowledgement form the liquidator that these details are on file with the company.

Correspondence should be addressed to:

Setanta Insurance Services Limited
Suite 6, Plaza 255, Blanchardstown Corporate Park 2
Ballycoolin, Dublin 15, Ireland

The FAQ page also includes contact numbers and emails for Setanta and a contact for the Consumer Complaints at the Malta Financial Services Authority.

Autobiz has been in contact with a number of bodyshop operators who could lose a substantial amount through this collapse. We are keen to hear from any other bodyshops affected by this situation so that we can access the true extent of the problem and put bodyshops in a similar situation in touch so that a common response can be coordinated.

If you have been affected please email details to bodyshop@autobiz.ie