THE VALUE of premiums being underwritten in Ireland by international reinsurance groups rose substantially last year to a level in excess of the entirety of premiums underwritten in the Lloyd’s market in London, figures published yesterday reveal.
According to the Dublin International Insurance and Management Association (Dima), its 61 members wrote in excess of €26.2 billion in gross written premiums in 2008. By comparison, the latest annual report for the Lloyd’s market shows that the value of its gross written premiums in 2007 was £17.98 billion. This is the equivalent of about €19.5 billion at the exchange rate prevailing at the end of 2008.
The two markets are not strictly comparable due to the different variety of premiums underwritten.
But the latest statistics illustrate the extent to which Dublin has captured a significant share of the global insurance market since the IFSC was established in the 1980s.
Dima said its members increased their net premiums to €21.7 billion from just more than €14 billion a year earlier. The total assets of Dima members was €65.1 billion, while the total capital and surplus was €12.4 billion.
Dima members employ 876 staff here.
“Despite the general turmoil last year in the international financial services sector, reinsurance substantially has proved resistant to the tribulations affecting other areas and shown its overall resilience as an industry,” said Dima chief executive Sarah Goddard.
