Mr. Conor Faughnan:

The common-sense answer to that question is that AA Ireland is a broker, but that is not technically true, according to the Central Bank. The Central Bank categorises AA Ireland as an intermediary. To the man in the street, AA Ireland is a broker. A broker records a person's risk details and shops around the market to get the best deal for him or her. An intermediary will seek cover from an insurance underwriter en bloc. In other words, if we have 40,000 motor insurance policies, we would engage with an underwriter on the best deal for these policies en bloc.