British general insurer, Independent Insurance, has opened an office in Dublin. The company will offer commercial insurance products exclusively through brokers.

The Irish commercial insurance market produces annual premium income of about £1.5 billion and 90 per cent of business is written by the top 10 insurers.

Mr Michael Gaughan, who is running the Irish operation, said that Independent had written over £600,000 worth of new business in the Republic even before it officially opened the new office.

The company plans to have a staff of 20 in Dublin by the end of the year and to build "very close relationships with a relatively small number of brokers". Independent will promote the advantages of the long-term policies - with fixed rates for up to five years - that it has pioneered in Britain, he said.