US insurance group Hartford will suspend new sales in the UK and Ireland from May 8.
The company is closing its London-based sales and marketing operation but will keep open its office in Swords - which is its European headquarters - to serve existing policy holders.
A statement from Hartford said it would be 're-sizing' its Dublin office, which suggested there would be job losses. The Swords operation currently employs 182 people.
However, a spokesperson for its Swords office said this evening that as far as he is aware there will be no lay-offs here.
Hartford CEO Marc Lieberman said the company was making the sales move in response to the continued turmoil on financial markets, and because it was trying to preserve capital and reduce its risks.
The group's announcement came as it reported a first-quarter net loss of $1.2 billion, compared with earnings of $145m in the first quarter of 2008.
Its European subsidiary, Hartford Life Limited, which was set up in 2005, has more than 18,000 policies in force and $1.8 billion of assets under management.
