The Irish insurance situation is dire, with hundreds of businesses struggling to find cover. Andy Cook says it's a paradise for risk managers
Ever thought about operating in the Republic of Ireland ...
The Irish insurance situation is dire, with hundreds of businesses struggling to find cover. Andy Cook says it's a paradise for risk managers
Ever thought about operating in the Republic of Ireland? No? Well maybe you should reconsider. The market needs help and it needs help fast.
Indeed the commercial lines market is so badly stricken that problems with cover and claims are threatening to undermine the existence of up to 200 businesses. Some new capacity is appearing, but underwriters are being very choosy. Hotels and health clubs can get some cover, but pubs, clubs and manufacturers are finding the situation dire.
Some businesses are resorting to strange practices. Loss adjusters are being told that small claims are being withdrawn. Why? Well the businesses are so worried that they will not be offered renewal terms that they are artificially cleaning up their claims records in order to look like better risks.
There are big opportunities for risk managers. Health and safety issues have been well down the list of priorities in recent years, but underwriters are looking more closely at risks and how they are being managed before even offering terms for renewal.
So good risk managers can earn their fees in year one, by simply qualifying a business to be looked at by an underwriter.
A powerful lobby of businesses has formed to put pressure on the government. And it seems that government ministers recently called in the biggest Irish insurers to ask them why there are over 200 businesses in the country without cover (employers' liability is not compulsory in the Republic).
Some of the barriers to doing business in Ireland have come down in recent months. One objection has been the cost of labour in the market. The Republic has a highly educated workforce that has not been big enough to feed the Celtic tiger.
But thousands of jobs have been cut over recent months. And that means there are good people on the labour market at good prices.
It is rumoured that some insurers can even think about reprimanding their staff if they need to without the threat of them walking out to a similar job on the same day.
