Are things really that great in Ireland's insurance industry?

The insurance market in Ireland has supposedly provided a steady flow of new jobs throughout 2009, but new figures showing that premium income shrunk by 30% 2008 don't really correspond with this theory. So, are we about to see an abrupt end to this recruitment, or possibly even job cuts?

The Irish Insurance Federation has just published its 2009 Factfile, which shows gross insurance premium income for non-life and life insurance business in Ireland was €13.4bn - a drop of 26% on 2007. Life assurance premiums slipped by 31% and the body expects this trend to continue into 2009.

The announcement by life assurance firm Friends First that it is to cut 147 jobs shows that the industry is far from bulletproof.

But the IIF remains optimistic, with Mike Kemp its chief executive, saying: "Insurers are fundamentally different to banks - business models and cashflows are not the same and as a result our market has survived the rigours of the financial crisis in good shape so far."

The Dublin International Insurance & Management Association (DIMA) is similarly bullish about prospects for multinational firms in Ireland.

Sarah Goddard, chief executive of DIMA, says: "Our figures show an increase in premium income for international insurance firms based in Ireland. New operations have been established in Ireland in 2009, and a number of our members have been actively increasing their staff numbers."

James Hayes, manager - banking and financial services, at Robert Walters in Ireland believes firms have been more active recruiters since the second quarter of this year.

"Insurance and reinsurance organizations sought candidates with specialist experience in underwriting, product development, risk management, payment protection, health and property and casualty within both life and non-life areas," he says.

But Paul Cotter, director of Cotter Personnel, suggests while recruitment still exists, it is far from buoyant.

"There are companies who are keen to bolster their teams by making a relatively significant number of hires," he says. "But there's also a large number of firms not doing any hiring at all, and the market is nowhere near as busy as it was in the past."