The chief executive of the Irish Insurance Federation, Mike Kemp as warned that Irish insurance premiums are set to rise, claiming that much of the business taken by the industry in 2007, was written at a loss.
Gross written premiums for non life products continued to fall for the fourth year in succession, with a small drop in underwriting profit.
Kemp suggested that the highly competetive market conditions in 2008 have so far continued the trend of loss making, but takes heart in the signs that motor insurance premiums for example have now passed the lowest point and are starting to rise again.
He has warned that “The non-life market has also been severely impacted by weather losses arising from this August’s storms, costing nearly €100m.”
Be prepared for bigger premiums when renewing your existing insurance policies.
1 comment so far
1 Brendan // Nov 19, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Yes, premiums may have to rise, but there’s a little more competition in the market since 2007 and that’s helping the keep the increases as low as possible. The days of exhorbitant profits are gone.