Allianz, a world leader in insurance provision, yesterday announced plans to set up a subsidiary health insurance operation based in Dublin to target the expatriate health insurance market.
Allianz Worldwide Care's headquarters, which will be located in Parkwest, will initially employ 30 people and involve an investment of €10-30 million (£7.9£23.6 million). However, if the company reaches its midterm targets and breaks even within three or four years, the number of staff employed at its Dublin office is likely to increase to 100.
Allianz Worldwide Care will not offer any insurance services in Ireland due to Department of Health regulations. Rather it will use its subsidiary insurance operations in more than 70 countries worldwide to target corporate clients within Switzerland and the European Union in the first phase of development. This will later be expanded to include Asia, US, Canada and other non-EU countries in Europe.
The decision to locate the central office of the company in the Republic was not solely based on the more competitive tax rate in the Republic compared to Germany, according to Dr Gerhard Rupprecht, a member of Allianz's board of management.
He said the "pro-business environment" in Ireland and an "unbureaucratic treatment of our application" by the regulatory authorities were important factors.
"In the expatriate business the key was flexibility on the part of the regulatory authority, and having the requisite freedom to provide services," he added.
Within the past 12 months Allianz has expanded its operating base in Ireland considerably. Its acquisition of AGF gave it a 66 per cent stake in AGF Irish Life, the holding company which owns 100 per cent of Church & General and Insurance Corporation of Ireland. Allianz also operates a re-insurance business in the Republic.
Asked if Allianz was considering withdrawing its main insurance business from Germany following recent unease at Government proposals to increase tax on insurance products, Dr Rupprecht said that, contrary to recent press reports, he did not think the core insurance business would ever leave Germany because insurance was a "face-to-face local business". However, this did not apply to back office facilities, he added.
Chief Executive Officer of Allianz Worldwide Care Ltd, Mr Ron Buchan, said, while there were no concrete plans for further investment in the Republic, it was possible this would happen at some future point.
Allianz's expatriate health insurance product is expected to be priced in the region of €1,200 (£945) for non-Canada/ USA basic inpatient emergency cover and €2,500 (£1,970) for a package which includes USA/Canada. Cover which includes outpatient care and dental treatments will cost extra.
