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Less than two years after entering the continental European market, Irish insurer Quinn confirmed to Insurance Times that it is to cease writing business in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. The news follows the resignation of founder chairman Sean Quinn who stepped down as chief executive after the Irish Financial Regulator imposed a €3.25m penalty on Quinn Insurance and fined him personally €200,000 for contravening obligations under the Insurance Acts and Regulations including “failure to notify the financial regulator prior to providing loans to related companies.” Commenting on Quinn retreat from mainland Europe, a company spokesman quoted in Insurance Times said “While the company made good progress in developing opportunities in Europe, given economic conditions, we feel we are unlikely to establish the necessary scale in the foreseeable future.” Commenting on his resignation, Sean Quinn says he accepts he made mistakes, believes the fine was disproportionate, and will now be spending more time with his family assets outside the group, in particular “our property portfolio, which is now active in 10 countries.”