The Irish Insurance Federation today published collated results for the non-life insurance market here for 2003. The 20 non-life insurance companies operating in the Irish market made a combined operating profit of €747m last year.
Of this €747m, motor insurance companies made a profit of €385m during the year, property insurance companies made €226m, liability insurance firms reported a profit of €94m, while other insurance business made a profit of €42m.
The IIF says the results come on the back of a number of depressed years for the industry, which were marked by a negative operating environment and sustained losses in some areas.
'This improved set of results is good news for both customers and shareholders alike,' commented IIF's CEO Michael Kemp. 'Both personal and business customers have experienced significant reduction in premiums within the past year. For instance, this week's survey of motoring costs published by the AA shows a 22% reduction in motor premiums over the previous 12 months,' he said.
'Business customers are typically experiencing insurance premium reductions of a similar order,' he added.
He predicts that insurance premiums will fall further after the implementation of a number of changes under the Government's insurance reform programme. He said that many of these reforms were still in the early stages of implementation and their full effects have yet to ripple through to the market.
However, he warned that a number of key issues need to addressed to ensure that consumers continue to benefit from the improving trend. These include the early implementation of the reforms in the Civil Liability Courts, Bill, the establishment of a dedicated Road Traffic Corps and greater focus on the enforcement of workplace safety legislation.
