Ireland favourite post-Brexit location for London-based insurance firms

Many insurance companies without substantial operations already established outside the UK have been forced to install new bases on the continent in order to retain access to the lucrative EU market once Britain has left the EU and the IUAL study found that 16 such companies have opened offices in Ireland since the Brexit vote in 2016.

One of the most prominent if these firms is XL Group, one of Lloyd’s of London’s largest insurance syndicates.

Chief executive of the XL Group Mike McGavick said last year that the move would help provide “certainty and consistency” to the company’s customers.

This chimes with Ireland, and Dublin in particular, generally being touted as good locations for UK firms due to the similarity and proximity to the UK, the fact that it is the only other EU country with English as a first language, and the country’s booming economy.

The report found Luxembourg was the second most popular place with ten firms opting to set up shop there, these have included the likes of giants such as AIG, a US multinational, which announced last year that they would set up operations in Luxembourg as a result of Brexit.

France and the Netherlands were found to be the next most popular locations, winning four firms each, while three went to Belgium.

“Insurers have selected a variety of different options for new European offices and no single continental post-Brexit insurance hub appears to be emerging,” the IUAL said.

“Decisions have generally been influenced largely by the location of any existing operations within the group, relationships with national regulators and proximity to customer bases.

“Ireland is the most favoured location, where a number of IUA members already have existing operations. Where firms do not already have a European base, Luxembourg has proved popular.”