ARB Insurance Company has begun trading in motor, commercial liability, fire, personal accident and travel insurance, with plans to underwrite up to €80m (£58m) of business, revealed a report.
It said the new company was 100% Irish owned and was set-up by Cathal O'Brien and John Kennedy. It was formed out of the ARB Group, a retail and wholesale insurance group founded in Ireland.
ARB was incorporated in Gibraltar, but is licensed to trade in Ireland under the Freedom of Services Act. According to the report, it is backed by international reinsurers all of which have a minimum Standard & Poor's rating of AA+.
According to the report, the new company plans to write up to €80m by the end of its third year.
Managing director Cathal O'Brien said: "This is an extremely positive development for the Irish Insurance Market, which will widen customer choice and increase service expectations.
"Furthermore, it is a vindication of the government's recent attempts to make the Irish Insurance Market more attractive for prospective carriers."
ARB Group director John Kennedy said: "The insurance company's products are only available to brokers and since we have a capacity to write around €30M (£21m) in premium for our first year, we intend to restrict our broker network to about 60 offices, geographically spread throughout the country."
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