SOME INSURANCE COMPANIES are not prepared for a no-deal Brexit, according to the Central Bank’s deputy governor, who has reminded them of their responsibility to their customers.

Speaking this morning at the launch of a CEO survey report hosted by PwC and Insurance Ireland, Ed Sibley said he is satisfied that the Irish financial system, overall, is
“resilient enough to withstand a hard Brexit”.

“However, not all regulated firms are adequately prepared. There is no excuse for this, even accepting that there remains considerable uncertainty. You owe all your stakeholders, including and most importantly your customers, a duty of care to ensure that you are prepared,” he said.

Sibley also told insurance firms that they need to take action to address the “risks, challenge and opportunities” of innovation and climate change.

“Too many of your firms are not getting the fundamentals right, with ineffective IT risk management practices, weaknesses in IT security, a lack of effective oversight of IT, and weaknesses in the management of outsourcing.”

He said he expects the industry to play a positive role in shaping the response to climate change risks.