THE VALUE of insurance premiums being underwritten in Ireland by international non-life insurers and reinsurance groups has risen to a level almost equal to the entirety of the premiums underwritten in the Lloyd's market in London, figures reveal.

Although the two markets are not strictly comparable due to the different variety of premiums underwritten, figures to be published today by an industry body illustrate the extent to which Dublin has captured a significant share of the global insurance market since the IFSC was established in the late 1980s.

According to the Dublin International Insurance Management Association (Dima), its 61 members wrote in excess of €22 billion in gross written premiums last year. Stripping out premiums reinsured by other organisations, the companies located in Ireland wrote net premiums of more than €18 billion.

By way of comparison, the latest annual report for the Lloyd's market shows that the value of its gross written premiums in 2007 was £16.37 billion. This is the equivalent of €22.26 million at the exchange rate prevailing at the end of 2007.

The Lloyd's market centres on non-life insurance and reinsurance. The overall market in Dublin is broader because it includes those two sectors as well as life insurance and captive management, where business organisations establish special-purpose companies to insure their risk.

"Dublin has been developing as an international centre for insurance and reinsurance for almost 20 years now," said Dima chief Sarah Goddard. "These figures reinforce the position of Dublin as one of the leading global reinsurance marketplaces, and we are delighted to say that we are still seeing new entrants to the market." From the total figure of €22 billion, the amount of gross premiums underwritten by Dublin-based reinsurers last year was €16.9 billion. Net premiums reached €15.2 billion.