Arachas, the largest Irish general insurance brokerage group, has agreed to acquire Cork-based Insight Insurance Brokers – the 25th deal since it was established two decades ago.
The value of the deal has not been disclosed. Still, it is understood to add close to €20 million of annual gross written premiums to the group, which wrote about €600 million of business on behalf of customers in 2024 – giving it a 13 per cent market share of activity in the market.
The deal will increase Arachas’s employees in Cork from 50 to 80, in a city to which the group traces its roots. Arachas was formed in 2004 by Cork-based broker Tyrrell Coakley merging with Dublin peers, Hodgins Percival and Slattery Jermyn.
“This expansion is bringing us back to our cultural roots, while giving us a new level of strength and energy in the region,” said Joey Wynne, chief executive of Arachas.
Arachas, which earns 85 per cent of its revenues from commercial insurance and the remainder from personal lines, has been at the forefront of a wave of consolidation among Irish insurance broker in the past decade.
Many of the acquirers, including Arachas, are ultimately backed by private equity firms, which are attracted to relatively predictable revenues from commission income.
Owners of brokers, on the other hand, have been tempted by the strong valuations being achieved in the industry, amid issues over succession planning and need for investment in many businesses in an era of growing compliance and regulatory demands.
Arachas was acquired in 2020 by Ardonagh, a UK brokerage group, for €250 million in a debt-backed deal. Ardonagh was valued at $14 billion (€13.4 billion) late last year under a deal in which US private equity firm Stone Point Capital took a stake in the business.
“There is still a need for more consolidation in the sector in Ireland,” said Mr Wynne.
He said the access Arachas has to data as it increased market share in recent years, and the backing of Ardonagh, has given the company better negotiating power securing and pricing coverage with Lloyds syndicates and other overseas capacity providers.
Commenting on recent insurance pricing trends, the CEO said: “Premiums have been growing in recent times in motor due to rates of inflation affecting damage costs. Home insurance rates have levelled off in recent times, having risen sharply in the last few years due to inflation and homeowners adding to sums insured.”
Commercial insurance premiums “have also flattened since last June”, though segments such as large financial lines – including professional indemnity and management liability insurance – and large casualty and property coverage has fallen over the period.
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