Insurer FBD has said trading conditions in the Irish insurance market “remain challenging”.

In an interim management statement issued ahead of its AGM this morning, the insurer said market rates continue to harden for both car insurance and business insurance.

It added that home insurance rates remain weak with increased competition for new business, due to the absence of significant weather events.

While economic growth will benefit FBD, the insurer said continuing significant uncertainty in the claims environment will impact the development of booked claims reserves and profitability in 2015.

Given the headwinds in the claims environment, the board said it believes that the long term interests of the group are best served by remaining prudent at this time. The company said no interim dividend will be declared in August.