FBD Holdings has said that the Irish insurance market contracted further during the first quarter of 2012, in line with economic activity.
It made the comments in a trading update ahead of its AGM today.
The company said the market continues to be very competitive due to the level of advertising spend and the pricing of business insurance risks.
But despite the difficult economic environment, FBD said it achieved premium levels in line with last year.
It said that while policy volume grew, this was offset by a fall in the average revenue per policy.
It said that unless exceptional events arise during the rest of the year, the group re-affirmed its previous guidance and predicted that its full year operating earnings per share will amount to between 145 and 155 cent.
In today's trading update, the company said that the benign weather seen in the first three months of the year and a reduction in the amount of travelling by Irish motorists contributed positively to managing risk costs. It noted that road fatalities in the first quarter of 2012 fell by 21% on the first quarter of 2011.
It said there was also an improvement in both the frequency and average cost of property related claims.
''Irish domestic demand is likely to reduce further, albeit at a diminishing rate, and industry premium income can be expected to reflect this trend in the broader economy,'' today's trading statement said.
''However, our continued focus on a buoyant agri sector, the opportunities provided by NoNonsense.ie and the expansion of FBD's broker channel will together provide FBD with the potential to outperform the market again in 2012,'' it added.
