insurance

insurance in Ireland was traditionally provided by London or Scottish houses. During the 18th century, when Irish merchants traded on their own account, both insurance and credit were generally effected through London. By the mid‐19th century English and Scottish firms dominated the Irish market for life and fire insurance. In the 1920s over 80 per cent of insurance business conducted in the Irish Free State was controlled by British firms, and most Irish firms were insolvent. From 1926 Irish governments sought to strengthen the indigenous insurance industry and to prevent the overwhelming majority of insurance premiums being invested outside Ireland. Draft legislation adopted in 1934 provided for the amalgamation of weak companies and the creation, with state assistance, of one or more Irish firms; only companies with at least 60 per cent of their shareholdings under Irish control would be permitted to engage in non‐life insurance. Many British insurance companies sold their Irish operations and the Irish Life Insurance Company was established, with the government as majority shareholder. During the Second World War the government formed a specialist marine insurance company to provide cover for the fleet of Irish Shipping Ltd. However, the failure to establish an Irish reinsurance company meant that insurance companies continued to invest substantial sums in London.

Mary Daly