The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney, is to meet with overseas insurance companies over the next couple of months in an effort to attract them to the Republic.
Ms Harney said she would be meeting a number of players in the European and US insurance markets to ensure they were aware of the reforms taking place here and the impact they will have on profitability.
Speaking at the Insurance Institute of Ireland's annual conference in Druids Glen, Co Wicklow yesterday, the Tánaiste said foreign investment had been central to the economic success story.
"I believe it is time now that we got the message out there that the Irish insurance market is being reformed very significantly, that the factors giving rise to high premiums are being addressed and that this is a market where there is scope for both premiums to fall and profits to rise."
Ms Harney said she wanted to see a strong and profitable insurance industry, but also one that supplied insurance at an affordable price, competitive relative to other EU countries. She said the Government's reform programme would make the market more attractive for new entrants.
However, the Irish Insurance Federation (IIF) said yesterday that overseas companies would wait until the Government implemented reforms recommended by the Motor Insurance Advisory Board (MIAB) report before entering the market here.
"Companies won't come in if they are looking at a market that is not giving a return to shareholders," IIF spokesman Mr Martin Long said.
The motor insurance market is seeing "rosier days", but these need to be sustained for longer, he said. "You won't find people investing in a market that is volatile."
The IIF said it was good news that Ms Harney was encouraging new entrants to the market and that she recognised a profitable industry was good for consumers.
But it said the cuts implemented by insurers on motor premiums this year were not related to Government action and could be traced back to cost savings resulting from industry initiatives, such as promotion of safety campaigns and the introduction of an anti-fraud hotline.
On Tuesday, the IIF is meeting the Tánaiste, the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, and the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, to discuss the implementation of the MIAB recommendations.
