Aviva Ireland said its general insurance business here saw strong financial results for last year after its gross written premiums rose by 13% to €660m from €584m in 2024.
Aviva Ireland said its general insurance operating profit fell to €64m from €73m after a year of record storms.
Its underwriting margin last year was 1.9% compared to 5.2% in 2024, while its combined operating ratio rose to 98.1% from 94.8% in 2024.
Declan O'Rourke, Aviva Insurance Ireland's chief executive, said despite the reduction in profit, the company continued to invest significantly during the year in digitisation, legacy system replacement, and AI, launching new products and distribution channels for customers.
He also said that while the Government has delivered significant progress in Insurance Reform, Ireland remains an outlier in Europe for both high compensation levels and high legal fees.
"On compensation levels, recent independent comparisons published by government show minor-injury settlements in Ireland are around five times higher than in England and Wales," Mr O'Rourke noted.
"We call on government to continue its recent good work to finalise the benchmarking and reduce minor injury awards to sustainable, proportionate levels in line with international standards," he said.
He also said legal cost reform has been promised since the 2020 Insurance Reform Plan.
"We call again on government to introduce scaled legal costs in the Circuit Court. Reduced compensation levels for minor injuries and reduced legal costs will lead to reduced insurance costs and improved affordability for customers," he added.
Aviva Ireland's UK parent Aviva today posted a 25% jump in annual profit and resumed its share buyback, helped by its combination with rival Direct Line and growth in its insurance premiums and wealth business.
Its operating profit for the 2025 full-year came in at £2.2 billion, up from £1.8 billion a year earlier and broadly in line with analyst forecasts compiled by the company.
The company, which offers car, home and life insurance in Britain, Ireland and Canada, also announced a 26.2 pence final dividend and a £350m share buyback, after a hiatus due to the Direct Line takeover.
General insurance premiums rose 18% to £14.1 billion, while net inflows into its wealth business grew 6% to £10.9 billion.
It reiterated its financial targets set in November, including growing earnings per share by 11% a year to 2028 and nearly doubling cost savings from its combination with Direct Line.
Aviva secured the largest takeover of CEO Amanda Blanc's tenure last year when it closed its acquisition of motor insurer Direct Line for £3.7 billion.
