Ireland will grow exponentially as an insurance hub over the next few years, according to Kevin Thompson, CEO of Insurance Ireland.
Speaking at the 2018 European Insurance Forum in Dublin, Thompson said the Irish captive market, currently made up of 38 captives, was in a “solid state” but had all the attributes to see future growth.
He explained: “We have a strong tradition in the captive market, with a strong regulatory environment and strong talent pool supporting it.”
“We have the talent, we have the regulatory infrastructure–so we have the ecosystem. Technology is starting to play a bigger part both for captives and for insurers, and we have a great technology ecosystem as well.”
“Ireland has always been renowned and it is an international hub for insurance. I think that will continue and Ireland will grow exponentially as an insurance hub over the next few years, as will captives.”
He added: “So I think we have the fundamentals to maintain captives but also let the captive market grow.”
Thompson predicted that in 2019 the captive market would continue its “stable status”, as “there is enough volatility out there from all different quarters”.
According to Thompson, there were a number of issues holding back both the captive and mainstream insurance markets at the moment, including “competitiveness, the war on talent, and making sure the right people are in place to service the business”.
“I think the big issue that we are facing at the moment that causes uncertainty is Brexit.”
“There are a lot of companies, including captives, going through the thought process of how they will reconfigure their business, if at all, in preparation for Brexit.”
“Companies will have made their decisions already in terms of what they’re doing but we will see that impact in 2019.”
Thompson suggested that with Solvency II now implemented and companies feeling more “sure footed in terms of their obligations under Solvency II and what that means for them”, the upcoming reviews could present a good opportunity for refinement and to reinforce the idea of proportionality and how it addressed.
He added: “The dialogue with the regulator is there, we just need to be clearer about what we need.”