Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 26 May 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach

Developments in the Insurance Industry: Discussion (Resumed)

Mr. Philip Bradley:

I am happy to lead off on that question. There will always be a need for protection. There will need to be a viable insurance sector. In the general insurance sector in Ireland, taking the motor market as an example, there are 35 active underwriters in this market. It is not as concentrated as other sectors. What people see is a change in the structure of the industry. We are likely to see the motor market getting smaller because of driving behaviour, the technology in cars and, of course, the work done by this committee in bringing down the costs of injury claims. I see the structure of the industry changing. Another significant factor is customers changing how they choose to buy. They are predominantly moving online. We see a significant amount of consolidation in the broker sector so there will be fewer large intermediaries. They are some of the trends I anticipate.