UK ship insurer North plans to start EU subsidiary in Ireland over market fears

British ship insurer North is setting up a new EU subsidiary in Dublin in case Britain loses access to the single market after Brexit, becoming the first of these specialised providers to announce such a move.

Insurers are making contingency plans after Britain’s vote to leave the EU means they could risk losing “passporting” rights that allow UK financial services firms to trade in Europe without the need for locally regulated entities.

Britain dominates the global marine insurance market and losing access to specialist Protection and Indemnity (P&I) clubs such as North could weaken other parts of the coun- try’s multibillion-pound shipping services sector.

North P&I club said on Monday that due to regulatory uncertainty “and a realistic prospect” that passporting rights could be lost as early as in March 29 2019, if Britain leaves the EU as expected, its board had agreed that a subsidiary insurance company should be established in Ireland to underwrite all future business in the European Economic Area for North and separate unit Sunderland Marine, with effect from February 20 2019. There are 13 major global P&I clubs, of which six are regulated in Britain and are estimated to account for more than half the total market share of an industry that insures about 90% of global oceangoing tonnage. /