During her maiden family vacation after assuming the role of CEO at Axa Insurance in Ireland, Marguerite Brosnan was notified about an opportunity that reduced her holiday time. While in the South France’s Pyrenees mountain region last July, Brosnan received news that her firm had become the favoured contender for Laya Healthcare. The Republic’s second-largest health insurer had been seeking buyers for several months prior, coinciding with Brosnan and her team’s plans for corporate expansion.
Brosnan admits that despite her usually effective work-life boundary, this transformative deal took precedence over her family time, a decision they comprehended. Completed in October after its announcement in early August, the €650 million acquisition is Axa Group’s most substantial commerce in Ireland in the last quarter-century. This milestone comes after their initial entrance into the market by buying the largest car insurance company of the time, Guardian PMPA Insurance, in a global multi-billion-euro transaction.
Brosnan comments that while most see Axa as a leading motor insurance business, it has also successfully branched into commercial insurance over time. She highlights their expansion in the motor insurance sector from 8% to 12% in the past four years and their 32% stake in the Republic’s motor market.
However, she emphasises that the greatest opportunity for variation always lay in the health field. The CEO recalls their explorations on gaining a foothold in the industry upon her assumption of the role. The news of Laya, owned by US insurance behemoth AIG since its €80 million 2015 acquisition, being on sale surfaced in May. Axa submitted their proposition before Brosnan left for her short-lived family getaway.
Axa’s acquisition has awarded the firm with a 28% stake in Ireland’s health insurance sector. The French multinational now boasts nearly 700,000 clients and attains annual premiums of €800 million. Originating from Bupa Ireland, established in 1997, Laya later navigated through a period under the authority of business tycoon Seán Quinn before his insurance realm crumbled in 2010.
Resting its headquarters in Cork and guided by the experienced managing director Dónal Clancy, Laya has essentially operated as an intermediary from 2012, providing health policies devised by Elips Insurance, a division of Swiss Re.
Axa is presently communicating with the Swiss colossal reinsurer regarding assuming the role of underwriter, a move that would first necessitate adjustments to the company’s business plan with the Central Bank, as per Brosnan, a native of Tipperary but a resident of Kilkenny.
Reiterating her ambitions, Brosnan foresees Axa commencing underwriting of Laya policies “sometime next year.”. Axa may also consider acquiring staff from the Dublin-based Swiss Re underwriting sector to facilitate this transition. Brosnan went on to hint that Axa might extend its underwriting services to Laya’s life insurance offerings, currently underwritten by another Swiss Re branch and travel insurance, which is under the purview of AIG.
“We’re undertaking this change methodically, as numerous tasks within the organisation are presently underway, but it’s highly likely to enter the future agenda,” Brosnan added.
Brosnan, the third of five siblings, started schooling remarkably early at age three, primarily due to her filled with constant energy as a child. After a roundabout journey through schooling, she pursued studies in science and maths at the University College Dublin. A recommendation led her to gain a higher diploma in education. Brosnan taught for a brief period in Dublin but didn’t find the job fulfilling. However, a friend’s tip about a job opening at Bank of Ireland in 1994 led her to pivot towards financial services.
In 1994, a colleague at the Bank of Ireland tipped her off about a job opportunity within the bank’s life insurance division. That marked the start of Brosnan’s career in the financial sector. She continued to work with the bank till 2020, climbing the corporate ladder through a variety of nine roles, ultimately ending up as the managing director of Bank of Ireland Insurance Services and the director of transformation in its New Ireland life assurance division.
Brosnan attributes her upward career trajectory to several mentors who looked out for ambitious and diligent individuals. From 2006 to 2014 including the Celtic Tiger phase, the financial crisis, and the Bank of Ireland’s successful avoidance of nationalisation, Brosnan operated as the regional manager for the business banking operations in the southeast, and regional sales manager.
Her responsibilities during this time were not only about managing customer interactions and facilitating debt restructuring, but also lending support to the staff dealing with the aftereffects of the financial crash. From her experiences over this time, Brosnan learned the critical value of honesty, transparency, and the importance of communication during a crisis.
Although Brosnan had always seen herself as a long-term employee at the Bank of Ireland, she had received several offers over time. However, she remained clear that she would only depart for an unmissable opportunity. That chance finally arrived in 2020 when she was invited to take up the position of retail director at Axa Ireland.
Realising it was the country’s largest insurer, likely to experience a change at the CEO level, and part of a global organisation deeply invested in Ireland, she decided to seize the opportunity. She believed it was a crucial chance she had to take or risk being left behind.
Due to the pandemic limitations, the majority of hiring interviews were conducted virtually, mainly through Microsoft’s video conferencing platform, Teams. She questioned her decision to accept a new role during these times when there were less chances for in-person interactions and getting acquainted with the organisational climate. Yet, the team and the local business made extra effort to facilitate connections.
In 2021, a leadership position opened in the Irish division after Philip Bradley, a long-serving professional with the French insurance company since 1978 and the Irish business head for seven years, announced his retirement plans. Brosnan took over the role in January the following year.
The acquisition of Laya, a company with around 600 employees, raised AXA Ireland’s staff count to 2,100. It’s also a significant growth opportunity for Laya, the second-largest player in the health insurance sector. The company had the largest market share in general insurance, which presents a possibility for scaling up.
In 2022, AXA Ireland reached a benchmark, being the first general insurer on the island of Ireland to see gross written premiums cross the €1 billion mark, reflecting a growth of 5% from the previous year, as stated in their latest annual financial report. However, net profit dropped by 18% to €92.6 million due to a rise in provisions for insurance claims. The company disbursed €200 million in dividends to its parent company over the past three years.
Regarding the financial projections for 2023, Brosnan chose not to comment. Average motor policy premiums came down by 22% between the end of 2017 and end of 2022, supported by a decline in claims costs following approval of new personal injury guidelines by the Judicial Council in early 2021, backed by Central Bank data. However, Brosnan stated that the cost of insurance coverage remained rather stable last year, balancing any reduction in injury payouts with rising motor repair costs triggered by inflation for labor and car parts.
Brosnan pointed out that the price of a Volkswagen Golf headlight, for instance, has risen by more than €500 since 2015. Many factors including delivery delays for spare parts contributed to a hike in costs.
Speaking about the current state of personal injury cases, it was stated that numerous cases are yet to be resolved, awaiting an influential judgment from the Supreme Court concerning the constitutionality of the awards guidelines. The decision was heard over a year ago and while it’s anticipated that the awards might decrease, the standstill brings uncertainty, the speaker noted.
She further suggested that once there is clarity, it may provide an opening to reconsider their stance, as clients have already received benefits related to this expected legislation. However, she conceded this period of uncertainty is challenging.
As per the data from the Central Bank, half of all injury claims in 2022 were settled based on personal injury guidelines, marking an increase from the prior year’s 16 per cent. Injury cases managed directly by insurance firms in the same year saw costs reduced by 47 per cent than under the earlier quantum book guidelines. The typical cost for cases dealt with through the Injuries Resolution Board (IRB), formerly known as the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB), was 32 per cent lower.
It should be noted, however, that only a few contentious claims were settled using these guidelines, given that the majority were filed before the guidelines came into force.
Government-led transformations have enhanced the role of the IRB, leading to the establishment of a mediation service and introducing regulations for a balanced responsibility between businesses or property owners and their customers or the wider public.
Thanks to these features, the Irish market has seen an influx of international players like the Australian OUTsurance, set to venture into the motor and home insurance sector in the first six months of this year. Additionally, January saw Italy’s insurance powerhouse Generali complete the acquisition of Liberty Mutual’s operations in Ireland, Spain and Portugal, which was valued at €2.3 billion, marking a return to the Irish insurance scene almost 22 years after its Dublin office was shuttered.
Axa, a leading insurance company in Ireland and the Republic, operates through a network of 34 branches and draws over 40% of its business directly. The leftover business comes via brokers and tied agents like Supervalu and AIB. This contrasts with Axa’s other European markets that are largely influenced by the tied agents route.
Marguerite Brosnan, the CEO at Axa Insurance in Ireland, is a spirited and synergistic leader. Underpinning her fondness for meticulousness and complexity are her mathematical roots, however, she tries to avoid getting too immersed in these details. Her goal is to simplify complex issues. Brosnan finds working with people invigorating as it’s her primary source of motivation. She prefers to work alongside her colleagues rather than from a personal office.
During tough times, Brosnan copes by spending time with the customer contact teams to familiarise herself with their operations. This works as a reset button for her. To maintain a healthy work-life balance, she lives in Kilkenny with her partner and two daughters. Her leisure time is spent joyously with her two delightful pets, Marley and Pepe, which she considers as a hobby.
A little-known fact about Brosnan is that she enjoyed a summer job in school, testing cattle with a local vet. She cherished the experience so much that it made her consider a career in veterinary medicine.
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