Profit at Irish arm of Aviva falls as CEO hits out at Ireland's high compensation levels

Aviva Insurance Ireland CEO said Ireland remains an outlier in Europe for both high compensation levels and high legal fees

Chief executive of Aviva Insurance Ireland Declan O'Rourke said GWP's rose by 13% in the year,

The Irish arm of insurance giant Aviva saw its operating profit from general insurance fall to €64m in 2025 despite double-digit growth in its gross written premiums (GWP).

Chief executive of Aviva Insurance Ireland Declan O'Rourke said GWP's rose by 13% in the year, totalling €632m from its general insurance business, which he said was driven by "strong growth in both personal and commercial lines."

A further €28m in GWP came from its health insurance partnership with Level Health, Aviva added.

"In a year of record storms, our underwriting margin in 2025 was 1.9%, compared with 5.2% in 2024," Mr O'Rourke said. 

"As a result, our operating profit declined to €64m." This was down from an operating profit of €73m in 2024. 

Declan O’Rourke, CEO of Aviva Insurance Ireland

Aviva noted that while the government has delivered "significant progress" in Insurance Reform, Ireland remains an outlier in Europe for both high compensation levels and high legal fees.

"On compensation levels, recent independent comparisons published by the government show minor-injury settlements in Ireland are around five times higher than in England and Wales. 

"We call on the government to continue its recent good work to finalise the benchmarking and reduce minor injury awards to sustainable, proportionate levels in line with international standards," the CEO added.

"Legal cost reform has been promised since the 2020 Insurance Reform Plan. We call again on government to introduce scaled legal costs in the Circuit Court. Reduced compensation levels for minor injuries and reduced legal costs will lead to reduced insurance costs and improved affordability for customers.”

Meanwhile, Aviva Insurance Ireland's parent company posted a 25% jump in annual profit and resumed its share buyback on Thursday, helped by growth in its insurance premiums and wealth business.

Its operating profit for the 2025 full-year came in at £2.2bn (€2.53bn), up from £1.8bn (€2.1bn) a year earlier and broadly in line with analyst forecasts compiled by the company.

The company, which offers car, home and life insurance in Britain, Ireland and Canada, also announced a 26.2 pence final dividend and a £350m share buyback, after a hiatus due to the Direct Line takeover.