Royal London has opened a subsidiary in Ireland as it looks to compete for new life insurance business in the country.
The subsidiary, Royal London Insurance DAC, will administer existing Irish and German policies that were bought by customers who lived outside the UK and may be impacted by Britain’s exit from the European Union.
The firm told International Adviser that the subsidiary will have passporting rights into all EU countries but at present “it is focused on its customers in Ireland and Germany”.
It also said that the subsidiary will process around 460,000 policies.
New chapter
As well as retaining all employees working at its existing Irish operation Royal London Ireland, the firm has created around 20 jobs in Dublin.
Tim Harris, deputy chief executive of Royal London, said: “We are writing a new chapter in the success story of Royal London in Ireland.
“In its chosen markets our Irish business has grown from less than 4% market share in 2012 to over 18% market share in the first nine months of 2018.”
He added: “By setting up this subsidiary, we intend to grow our Irish business further and to see it thrive as an integral part of the Royal London family.”
The firm also said customers in Ireland will benefit from “substantially strengthened governance and full regulatory oversight by the Central Bank of Ireland”.
