Irish non-life insurers defy gravity

Reserve releases boosted Irish insurers’ profits to unheard of levels in 2005

Irish non-life insurers enjoyed another year of extravagant profits in 2005, according to statistics released by the Irish Insurance Federation (IIF). Despite a reduction in gross premium income of 11% to €3.8bn, IIF members still managed to raise operating profits by 10% to €1.2bn. Their combined ratio was down to an almost unbelievable 78.7%.