Allianz Ireland, the second-largest general insurer in the Irish market, paid €100 million of dividends to its German parent last year, according to a new filing here.
The payment brings total such distributions by the company since the Covid-19 pandemic, when insurers were asked by regulators to hold off on dividends and buy-backs to protect their capital positions, to €300 million.
The latest annual solvency and financial condition report (SCFR) of Allianz plc, the registered name of Allianz Ireland, shows the company’s gross written premiums rose 19 per cent to €800 million last year.
This was driven by price increases and a rise in policy volumes, “while maintaining underwriting discipline”, according to the report.
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However, the profit derived from underwriting insurance risks on behalf of customers rose at a slower pace, by 12.6 per cent to €44.3 million.
Within that, the company’s motor underwriting result rose by 10 per cent to €16.2 million, while fire and other damage to property insurance jumped 160 per cent to €13.1 million, boosted by the release of reserves taken in previous years for claims that did not turn out to be as expensive as expected. This is known in the industry as “positive prior year development”.
The general liability insurance profit fell 11 per cent to €16.1 million. “General liability insurance was broadly stable with the reduction due to lower prior year development,” it said.
The earnings boost from freeing up some reserves echoes the experience of FBD, Ireland’s only indigenous insurer, which said month that its €77.1 million net profit had been boosted by the release of €26.9 million of provisions. However, Axa Ireland, the largest insurer operating in the Republic, did not report any such releases in its latest SCFR, which was reported on by The Irish Times last week.
Allianz Ireland, which is led by chief executive Phillip Gronemeyer, said the margin on total business remained relatively consistent in 2024 with the increase due to increased premium, stable claims and cost containment measures. “The margin on motor business marginally increased versus 2023 due to increased volumes,” it added.
According to Central Statistics Office data, in the year to December 2024 motor insurance prices in Ireland increased by 11.4 per cent on average, driven, according to insurance companies, by rising damage costs as a result of rising prices for spare parts and labour. In comparison, the average price rise in the European Union for the same period was 13.1 per cent
Allianz Ireland’s net profit rose to €55.1 million last year from €41.9 million for 2023.
The company’s shareholders funds fell to €295.7 million from €321.5 million.
“The company was sufficiently capitalised at year end 2024 with own funds exceeding the SCR [solvency capital requirement] by €111 million resulting in a solvency coverage ratio of 169 per cent,” it said.
Allianz Ireland’s investment portfolio, which is 95 per cent invested in low-risk bonds, delivered an overall profit of €9.5 million
Industry lobby group Insurance Ireland has come out strongly against the Judicial Council’s proposal, announced late last year, to increase personal injury award levels by nearly 17 per cent as part of its first scheduled review of guidelines that were first introduced in 2021 and have led to a significant decline in costs for claims settled under the regime.
The recommendation is currently under consideration by Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan and is expected to be brought before the Oireachtas.
Some industry representatives have warned that higher awards may shift more claims out of the Injuries Resolution Board and into litigation, adding to legal costs and increasing pressure on premiums.
