Higher insurance prices helped general insurer Allianz Ireland to record a 25 per cent rise in premium income to €320 million (£252 million) for the six months to the end of June. Operating profits rose by 14 per cent to €9.7 million, held back by lower investment earnings.
But the insurer, which has about 13 per cent of the personal motor market, is unhappy at the level of enforcement of speeding, drink-driving and general traffic rules.
"We believe that detection levels need to increase substantially before they will have a significant impact on driving practices and ultimately result in a lessening of the terrible carnage we experience on our roads," said chief executive Mr John O'Hanlon.
Finance director Mr Brendan Murphy said while enforcement by the Garda had improved, there was room for further improvement and warned that its international parent could not remain patient indefinitely with high underwriting losses on the Irish motor business.
The company declined to give a breakdown of the underwriting outcome for each category.
Allianz Ireland's overall first-half underwriting loss increased by just under 3 per cent to €17.2 million. But the outcome masks an improved performance given the rise in premium income - the underwriting loss increased by just €460,000 on a €65 million rise in premium income.
Price increases in motor, household, and employer and public liability insurance helped the underwriting result but there were underwriting losses in each category of business, according to Mr Murphy.
Allianz warned of further price increases in commercial product prices - employer and public liability insurance, he said.
"While the underwriting trend is moving in the right direction, our target is to move towards underwriting break-even and some commercial prices are still too low," he said.
Customers would be individually assessed for price increases based on their claims performance, he added.
Some of the business Allianz lost to the now-collapsed Independent Insurance has come back to the group at or near the original price it quoted, he said. Independent's rates were "totally unrealistic, often 50 per cent less than we would quote... it was an accident waiting to happen", he commented.
Allianz has welcomed proposals from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment for certification of reserves following the Independent collapse.
Established companies would welcome this. It would protect the market on the core issues of security and stability, and mean greater customer confidence across our industry," he said.
Product prices have continued to recover from the effects of excessive margin erosion of the late 1990s but claims' inflation, mainly on property replacement and reinstatement costs, were continuing to dampen margins throughout the industry, Mr O'Hanlon said.
