Sir, – Your Markets Correspondent paints an incomplete picture of the Irish insurance regime (“FBD profit falls following €30.8m of net costs from bad weather early last year”, March 6th).
FBD is not “the Republic’s only indigenous general insurer”. Fair play to the Irish farming community who came together in 1967 to put together what has become the successful FBD.
However, four decades earlier, the county councillors of the new fledgling State came together under the auspices of the newly formed General Council of County Councils to establish Irish Public Bodies Insurances (IPB Insurance) to provide insurance and risk cover for local government activity.
This evolved in a short time to include the vocational education sector.
READ MORE
This year IPB Insurance celebrates its 100th anniversary.
Great praise is due to the councillors of 1926 who, three years after the ending of Civil War activity and one year before the assassination of minister for justice Kevin O’Higgins, put together an insurance entity (with some external mentoring and management) which has survived and prospered for over 100 years.
Local government in Ireland has many constraints as ordained by central government but this is one achievement that deserves to be recognised. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL McGREAL
Former member, Roscommon County Council,
Former group director, Irish Public Bodies Insurances,
Ballinlough,
Co Roscommon
