Insurance premium increases at FBD were offset by the impact of extreme weather in January and December last year, but the group said its operating profit still rose by 41 per cent.

The company said performance last year was "strong" and it made "significant progress" in strategic priorities in 2010, despite it being a challenging year for the economy.

Underwriting discipline and "prudent" reinsurance policy helped to protect the group's results, FBD said today, and also helped its capital base and solvency.

Operating profit was €40.7 million for the year, while profit in its primary underwriting business was up by 61 per cent compared to 2009, at €36.1 million. The group said a turnaround of €14.5 million in the underwriting result was offset by lower investment returns.

FBD said its gross written premium saw its first increase since 2007, rising marginally at 0.3 per cent on 2009 to €358.4 million. The overall market fell by 2.6 per cent last year.

Net claims last year fell by 11.1 per cent compared to a year earlier, a decrease the company attributed to lower insurance exposure, better 2010 large claims experience, a fall in the frequency of non-weather related property claims, and claims management initiatives.

Insurance rates have hardened across the Irish market in 2010, FBD said.

FBD's non-underwriting operations saw operating profit of €4.6 million, lower than €6.5 million recorded in 2009, as market conditions continued to be challenging.

"FBD delivered another strong operational performance and made significant progress in advancing its strategic priorities in 2010, a challenging year for Ireland's economy and the insurance sector," chief executive Andrew Langford said.

"We have grown market share for nine of the last 10 years reaching 11.8 per cent in 2010. The group has a strong capital base and balance sheet and a prudent reserving strategy and is well positioned to outperform its peers in delivering superior returns to shareholders."