Ms Dorothea Dowling:

The Senator need not rely on my expert opinion as he can examine the data. In the appendices, at page 63, there is the actuary analysis of the returns in the Irish and English markets. The 100% mark is break-even, meaning premiums coming in match claims, management expansions, etc. The page is titled Irish and UK Motor Market Results, and the sources are the databases we have spoken about, Risk Intelligence Ireland, INCA and Deloitte. The green line represents Ireland and was over the break-even point from 2002 to 2008. I mentioned the Central Bank stress test done in 2009 and perhaps that is why it came down. The sector went into profit again. Looking at the red line, the combined ratio for the UK is well below break-even.