According to a survey by the Financial Regulator, Quinn Direct is far and away the cheapest home insurer on the market.

Along with FBD, it is one of the few brokers to offer a decent quote to flood victims, the survey shows.

It was also cheapest in more than half of the categories and among the top three in 23 out of 24. For younger drivers, the potential savings totted up to almost Euro4,000.

Quinn Direct was also shown to be the cheapest car insurer in a separate survey by the regulator a few months ago.

However, the watchdog has stressed that the cheapest insurance is not always the best.

Company chairman Sean Quinn claims to have reduced the price of general insurance in Ireland by 45 per cent over the past five years - and says he will continue such a trend with Bupa.

He has frozen prices for Bupa customers for a year from the start of March, claiming this will leave a typical family policy 27% cheaper than that of the VHI.

The new health insurance operation also claims that it had one of its busiest days last week despite the uncertainty over its future.