As firms prepare for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU in 2019, London-based insurer
Beazley announced “good progress” in obtaining approval for its Irish reinsurance arm,
Beazley Re, to become a European insurance company.
“We continue to make good progress with our application to obtain approval from the Central Bank of Ireland [CBI] for Beazley Re dac to become a European insurance company,” said the underwriter in a trading statement.
Dublin has been a potential target for many insurers looking to set up EU subsidiaries, due to its language, location, and tax and regulatory systems. Earlier this year, the Lloyd’s of London insurer revealed plans to hire new staff at its Dublin office to establish a European insurance subsidiary with Beazley chief executive Andre Horton saying Dublin was chosen because it would be easier for the company to transform an already existing business.
“We’re hopeful because we’ve been in Ireland for seven years... we hope we’re at the front of the queue,” Horton told
Reuters.
If approved, the specialist insurer will be able to operate throughout the European Union even if Lloyd’s loses single market access post-Brexit.
In addition, the company reported an annualised 2% decrease in gross written premiums for the first quarter, as value slid to US$573 million from $583 million.
“Specialty lines, our largest division, achieved premium growth of 6% year on year, writing [US]$277 million in the first three months of 2017,” said the insurer. “In Q1 2016, the division had a one-off premium related to the acquisition of an international healthcare portfolio and, that aside, continues to achieve double digit growth. Excluding the impact of this one-off premium, the group’s gross premiums written have increased 5% year on year at constant exchange rates.”
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