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A London-based underwriter of marine, casualty, and property re/insurance has announced that it will hire additional staff for its Irish insurance business.
Andrew Horton, Beazley chief executive, told Reuters the company will be hiring new staff at its Dublin office to establish a European insurance subsidiary after the Brexit vote.
The insurer, which has offices in Oslo, Munich, and Paris, lodged its application to set up an insurance subsidiary in Dublin in November. This application is currently under regulatory review.
“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.
“We are establishing our insurance company (in Dublin) irrespective of when the Brexit application goes in. We were already starting to do that even before we had the referendum in June.”
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Horton said Dublin was chosen because it would be easier for the company to transform an already existing business.
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.
Ireland has also been tagged as a possible new centre by Lloyd’s of London’s Neon Underwriting Ltd, as well as Admiral.
Horton said Beazley is looking to hire local talents, rather than transfer people from Britain or elsewhere.
“We’re expecting to add jobs in Dublin because it will need more people to manage a live insurance company than a reinsurance company,” he told Reuters. He did not reveal how many new staff they would hire.
On Friday, the company reported a 3% rise in full-year pretax profits to $293.2 million from last year’s $284.0 million, and higher than analyst estimates of $243 million.
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