Intact Insurance Ireland, previously known as RSA Ireland, is among final bidders vying to buy RedClick Insurance as the former leading car and home coverage provider in the Republic seeks to regain lost market share, according to sources.
Zurich Insurance Group is also said to be among a small number of parties continuing to circle RedClick as the process reaches an advanced stage.
RedClick’s Italian parent, Generali, hired Bank of America earlier in the year to carry out a strategic review of the unit, which has an estimated 4.5 per cent share of the €4.5 billion general insurance market in the Republic, measured by annual gross written premiums. The investment bank has been running a sale process in recent months as part of the review.
A decision on whether to proceed with a sale – or even enter exclusive talks with a bidder – has yet to be made, according to sources.
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A deal would mark a second change in ownership in recent years. The insurer was acquired by Generali in early 2024 from US-based Liberty Mutual as part of a wider European transaction. It was rebranded as RedClick last year.
Spokesmen for RedClick and Zurich and a spokeswoman for Intact – owner of the 123.ie direct-to-consumers insurance brand – declined to comment on the process. Representatives for Generali in Trieste, Italy did not respond to requests for comment.
RSA Ireland was once the largest insurer in the State, before it was rocked by an accounting scandal in 2013. It has languished in sixth position in recent years, with a 7.5 per cent market share in 2024.
Allianz Ireland overtook Axa Ireland as the largest insurer in the Republic last year as its market share edged up to almost 18 per cent, according to calculations based on data in the companies’ latest annual solvency and financial condition reports (SCFR) and estimates for the total market.
Zurich is the fourth-largest player in the market, after Aviva Insurance Ireland. Aviva is believed to have considered a bid for RedClick, but the UK-based group is focused on bedding in the £3.7 billion (€4.2 billion) acquisition in July of Direct Line in its home market.
RSA Insurance in Ireland renamed in October to Intact Insurance as part of a rebranding of the wider RSA Insurance Group by its Canadian owners. Canada’s Intact Financial Corporation and Danish insurer Tryg took over the group in 2021 and split the operations. Intact took on the UK, Irish and Canadian businesses and certain other international units.
The UK business has now become focused on commercial coverage, having exited motor, home and pet insurance over the past two years. However, the Irish strategy is anchored around personal lines.
Former RSA Ireland chief executive Philip Smith was banned last week by the Central Bank of Ireland from holding a senior financial role for 13 years after he was found to have participated in regulatory breaches more than a decade ago.
He was suspended by the insurer in early November 2013 as it investigated how the Irish unit timed the setting aside of reserves to cover insurance claims.
A subsequent Central Bank investigation found the company did not set aside enough money – or under-reserved – for a series of large loss claims. This artificially inflated its profits.
Zurich was in talks in 2023 to acquire Liberty Mutual’s businesses in Ireland, Spain and Portugal when the US group’s operations across the three markets were being sold as a package. Generali won the process.
RedClick had 250,000 customers and more than 400 employees across offices in Cavan, Enniskillen and Dublin as of late last year.
The business was originally set up as Quinn Insurance three decades ago by businessman Seán Quinn. It was taken over by Liberty Mutual in 2011 after falling into administration with a large hole in its balance sheet.
