EU

Insurance probe finds lobby group made it ‘difficult, if not impossible’ to enter Irish market

Margrethe Vestager, EC competition chief, says her official’s probe into how Insurance Ireland operated a claims database effectively kept competition from entering the market

Margrethe Vestager, EC competition chief: Vestager’s officials closed the investigation earlier this year after accepting commitments from Insurance Ireland that it would allow companies looking to enter the market access to Insurance Link on a ‘fair, transparent, objective and non-discriminatory’ basis. Picture: Getty

Insurance Ireland’s operation of a key claims information database made it “very difficult, if not impossible” for companies to enter the Irish insurance market competitively, the European Commission’s competition chief has said.

Margrethe Vestager, the commission’s executive vice-president, said her officials’ probe into how the lobby group operated Insurance Link, a database of claims history information, had led to a “completely new system” for prospective entrants.

The commission first launched its probe into Insurance Ireland ...