Captive insurance market pushes hiring, pay

Ireland's insurance market is in good health: profits for 2005 are expected to reach record levels and in recent years the industry has benefited from an influx of global companies in the wake of the September 11th disaster. It's little surprise then that Irish insurers are hiring.

"Recruitment in the Irish insurance market is very buoyant," says Lynda Barnes at Dublin-based Brightwater Search and Selection. She adds: "We've seen around a 15% year on year increase in vacancies, with a particular focus on broking, business development, compliance and specialist risk assessment."

Paul Cotter, managing director of Irish operations at recruitment firm Joslin Rowe, says the captive insurance sector, in which large companies set up their own insurance companies, has been the most active. "This kind of work was traditionally done in places like Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, but in the past few years we have seen more and more of it come to Dublin," he says. Like Barnes, he highlights business development and compliance as key areas of recruitment.

Major companies with captive insurance operations in Dublin include the German car maker BMW, as well as Coca-Cola, Ford, Motorola and Intel. Sarah Goddard, chief executive officer of the Dublin International Insurance & Management Association (DIMA), says around 800 people are now employed in international insurance companies based in Dublin, with many more working in life insurance and domestic businesses. Reinsurers such as Axis, Quanta Holdings and White Mountains, which opened Irish offices in 2002 and 2003, have boosted the total.

Pay and retention

Successful business development executives and brokers in the Irish insurance market can expect to be well paid for their efforts. According to Brightwater Search and Selection, a senior broker with over ten years' experience at selling to the corporate sector can expect a salary of €70,000 or more. Cotter says bonuses for successful brokers are around 15% to 20% of this. He says pay is highest for underwriters working on the international markets, who with ten years' experience can expect a salary of €120,000 to €150,000, plus a bonus of 100% or more.

As the hiring climate heats up, more effort is also being made to retain existing staff. Barnes says employees of Dublin insurers are increasingly receiving equity shares in the companies they work for. At the same time, she says the focus of bonuses has shifted to reflect success at maintaining existing client relationships, as well as bringing in new ones.