IRELAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Grainne Callanan, April McClements and Aisling Kavanagh, Matheson LLP
establishing a third-country branch may not represent a comprehensive solution for UK insurers seeking to maintain access to the single market; therefore, estab- lishing an EEA-authorised subsidiary has been the preferred option. 3.2 Fronting The CBI does not currently permit 100% reinsurance arrangements. 4. Transaction Activity 4.1 M&A Activities Relating to Insurance Companies There has been an increase in the overall number of transactions in the Irish M&A market in 2025, with 236 announced transactions in the first half of the year. This offers promise when compared with the global trend of a decrease in deal frequency; however, the value of deals has taken a significant downturn in the Irish market, with deals for the first half of 2025 val- ued at approximately €8.8bn (approximately a 51% decrease from the first half of 2024). M&A activity in the Irish insurance market has shown steady growth in 2025. In recent years, consolidation has been a prominent feature of the global insurance- broking industry, and this year, it remains the transac- tion of choice for many insurance-specific M&A deals. This consolidation trend has been particularly preva- lent in fragmented markets where regulatory require- ments, technology investments and competitive pres- sures favour larger, more integrated operations. Middle-market deals accounted for the majority of deal value again in 2025 (following the same trend as 2024), despite five landmark deals (of value greater than EUR500m) being announced in the first half of 2025. 88% of the deals disclosed are valued between EUR5 million and EUR250 million. Private equity (com- menced or backed) made up approximately 24% of all Irish M&A transactions in the first half of 2025 – a slight increase compared to the same period for 2024, with private equity investors featuring in 11 of the 25 M&A transactions involving financial services firms in the first quarter of 2025.
Whilst Irish TMT deal value decreased in the first half of 2025, other sectors accounted for a significant share of M&A value, with financial services-based M&A accounting for the most activity (approximately 37%) of all Irish M&A value for the first half of 2025. One growth area in the Irish financial services sector was the use of roll-up strategies in the broker market, backed by private equity firms. As in previous years, 2025 has seen continued activity with regard to the consolidation of life and non-life run-off books. 2025 has been a mixed picture in general for the Irish M&A market. With an increase in deal volume and a decrease in deal value reported as of the end of the first half of 2025, as well as a number of large value deals closing in Q3 and Q4 2025, the Irish M&A out- look remains positive and highly resilient, with activity levels anticipated to remain healthy into 2026. 5. Distribution 5.1 Distribution of Insurance and Reinsurance Products Insurance Distribution Regulations The IDR govern the distribution or sale of insurance products and applies to persons engaged in insur- ance distribution business in the Irish market, such as agents, brokers and bancassurance operators. How- ever, insurers can also distribute insurance products directly to customers. Definition of insurance distribution Under the IDR, insurance distribution is defined as “any activity involved in advising on, proposing, or car - rying out other work preparatory to the conclusion of contracts of insurance, of concluding such contracts, or of assisting in the administration and performance of such contracts ‒ in particular, in the event of a claim, the provision of information concerning one or more insurance contracts in accordance with criteria select - ed by customers through a website or other media and the compilation of an insurance product ranking list, including price and product comparison, or a dis - count on the price of an insurance contract, when the customer is able to directly or indirectly conclude an insurance contract using a website or other media”.
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