FBD, the Republic’s only indigenous general insurer, said its pretax profit fell by almost 30 per cent last year as it absorbed €30.8 million of net costs from Storm Éowyn in January last year.
The profit drop to €54.2 million came as the Dublin-listed group’s result from insurance underwriting declined by 33 per cent to €44.9 million, the company said in a statement on Friday. Its return on investments – another core part component of insurance companies’ earnings – fell 5.4 per cent to €24.7 million.
Still, the board plans to keep its dividend unchanged at €1 per share, or €36 million in total, following on from a special dividend of 75c paid out late last year, as its capital reserves levels remain comfortably above its own targets.
It also plans to spend up to €4 million buying back its own shares in 2026, similar to last year.
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Gross written premium increased by 9 per cent last year to €501.7 million – breaching €500 million for the first time – with its number of policies rising 3.2 per cent and the average premium rising 5.6 per cent. Much of the increase in premiums related to customers increasing their level of insurance cover, the company said.
Average settlement costs for injury claims have increased by 4 per cent compared to 2024, with pre-litigation settlement costs 6 per cent higher.
“We have experienced increases in third-party motor damage costs in 2025, across both private and commercial motor,” the company said. “New property claims notifications in 2025 increased substantially compared to 2024 due to the January 2025 weather events.”
“FBD is profitable and growing and while we remain mindful of uncertainty in the external environment, we remain confident that our relationship-driven approach, supported by a digitally enabled and data-enriched organisation, will continue to deliver long-term value for our customers, shareholders and wider stakeholders,” said chief executive Tomás Ó Midheach.
FBD chief financial officer Kate Tobin noted that court awards have risen in the past year, even though Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan decided against seeking Oireachtas approval to rubber stamp the State’s judiciary’s proposed 16.7 per cent increase to personal injury awards.
“Some of this is down to the nature of awards shifting, as well as straight forward inflation,” said Tobin, adding that there has been an increase in injured parties seeking damages for psychological as well as physical injuries.
Aviva Insurance Ireland reported on Thursday that its full-year general insurance operating profit declined 12.3 per cent as it dealt with Storm Éowyn, the most expensive insurance event in Irish history, where industry costs exceeded €300 million.
The UK-owned company said its gross written premiums increased by 13 per cent to €660 million, €28 million of which was delivered by its health insurance partnership with Level Health.
Aviva Insurance Ireland chief executive Declan O’Rourke said that while the Government has delivered “significant progress in insurance reform, Ireland remains an outlier in Europe for both high compensation levels and high legal fees”.
“On compensation levels, recent independent comparisons published by government show minor-injury settlements in Ireland are around five times higher than in England and Wales,” he said. “We call on government to continue its recent good work to finalise the benchmarking and reduce minor injury awards to sustainable, proportionate levels in line with international standards.”
O’Rourke called on the Government to introduce scaled legal costs in the Circuit Court. “Reduced compensation levels for minor injuries and reduced legal costs will lead to reduced insurance costs and improved affordability for customers,” he said.
