Mr. Ronan Mulligan:

It will show the results by company. One can add them up and get the results for the market as well. That said, if we go back, they have made a lot of money in motor insurance in the past as well. If we consider the period between 2001 and 2007, the motor market would have made quite a lot of money. Between 2007 and 2012-13, the market was breaking even. It made money in some years and lost money in others. That is characteristic of an underwriting cycle. Money is made. People chase market share. They chase that profit. Prices come down. What we were trying to say in the presentation is that they came down by too much, and that is a natural part of the underwriting cycle. As companies chase market share, they reduced premiums too much and what we see now is prices coming back again but at a very pronounced level; 70% is an enormous number over the past three years. In terms of understanding that, they are coming from a low base, and then we have this uncertainty in the claims environment that they are pricing in too.

There is evidence that they have lost money in the past two or three years. Perhaps we should take a longer term view, and actuaries would always recommend that we look at these matters over the longer term and over the cycle. We are where we are, and we shall see in the Central Bank returns over the coming years where the insurers profitability lies.

The problem is that it does not address the issue right now and that information is delayed or lagged because it is published in arrears and the financial results the insurers produce tend to be lagged as well relating to accounting rules.