New Dublin District Office For Irish Life
9 Jun 1970LATEST and most impressive milestone in the continuous progress of the Irish Life Assurance Company Limited is the opening of the company’s new Dublin District Office at 16/19 Wellington Quay.
Rising high in the sky the modernly designed four-storey building considerably enhances the area adding a handsome new dimension to the river frontage. The broad frontage of the building runs parallel with the River Liffey and was built over the spot where the River Poddle enters the river. This occasioned many engineering and architectural problem, the construction of giant culverts, etc. All these were succesfully overcome by the architects, Lardner and Partners, Dundrum, Co. Dublin; the consulting engineers Ove Arup and Partners, Wellington Road, and by the main building contractors, Hugh O’Neill & Co., Inchicore.
Total floor area is 13,000 sq. ft. and occupying the greater portion of the ground floor is the General Administrative Office in a beautifully proportioned hall outstanding in decor and architectural embellishments.
Here too is the District Manager’s Office and other executive suites. The second and third floors are divided into four _divisional offices and district executives offices while the fourth floor leaves scope for further expansion efficiency and make intercommunications more easy, ‘but will provide enhanced facilities for both customers and staff. The handsome and also very modern Irish Life Headquarters building on Mespil Road opened in 1962, is still one of the most outstanding buildings in the Ballsbridge area and of recent months a comprehensive modernisation plan has been in operation in the organisations various provincial centres at South Mall, Cork, Athlone, Carlow, Galway, Letterkenny, Limerick, Tralee. More modern offices are now being built at Waterford and Sligo and plans for a similar modernisation in the Dundalk Division are already on the drawing, board. The Company’s outstanding success story commenced in 1939 by the amalgamation of the Republic of Ireland business of five large British offices — Prudential, Pearl, Britannic, Refuge, and Liverpool Victoria, together with the businesses of four small Irish offices. Company more competitive and more successful. One has only to recall that in 1939 there was a staff of 2,750 and today, with more than ten times the business, the total staff barely exceeds 1,000.
Additionally in recent years the large scale data processing operation has been receiving considerable attention _expecially since 1965 when it was decided to install a large third generation computer. This was a carefully planned operation and today Irish Life is one of the few life offices with the whole of its Industrial Assurance business (involving one and a half million policies) on one master file.
That marketing is regarded as of prime importance is indicated in innovations which have taken place in the types of policy the Company* services. In 1964 it successfully launched its Blue Chip Policy, the first unit trust linked life assurance plan available in Ireland. This has had a remark able success and is now well established and popular. which emph’ asises a basic fact of life assurance—the money is always paid back either to the individual when the policy matures or to his dependants if he should die at any time before the maturity date. In spite of keen’competition from the fourteen other life offices operating in Ireland, Irish Life’s share of the market has grown steadily over the years. Today Irish Life underwrites approximately one third of all the Ordinary Branch business, approximately two thirds of all the Pension Scheme business and almost half the Industrial Branch business transacted in the country. Irish Life is by far the largest single long-term investor in the Irish economy. Balance sheet values show that 40% of Irish Life’s investments are in equities and 11% are in property. The Company is also a largeinternational investor with equity portfolios in the United Kingdom, U.S.A, Europe, Aus tralia and Japan. In 1967 Irish Life augmented its _subtantiai U.S.portfoil with a $3 million loan
In 1969 the yield on policyholders’ funds increased again to £6-13-9% on the Ordinary Branch fund and £6-19-7% on the Industrial Branch fund.
PARKING
There is ample parking space In areas around and underneath the building capable of containing 50 cars.
Into this new central and most modern district office, the Irish Life District offices and other departments, which up to now had occupied buildings in Pearse Street, Dolphin’s Barn, North Strand and Dun Laoghaire, will be gathered together, a long planned for step which will not only increase
BUSINESS
The Company transacts Ordinary Branch life assurance and Industrial Branch (home service) assurance business, but not General Branch business.
Funds in 1939 were £4,700,000 and growth was slow in the early years. Indeed the first ten to fifteen years were difficult. It was no easy task to bring together the staffs of nine different companies with nine different systems, especially against the background of wartime restrictions and lack of investment opportunity.
INCREASE
In 1959 the name of the Company was changed to Irish Life and since then the growth has been remarkable. In the last five years only three British offices have had a faster rate of growth. In the 1960’s the life assurance funds have risen from, £29 millions to nearly £75 millions, a growth of 160% or an average of 10% per annum compound. Premium Income has grown to £10 millions per annum representing an average growth rate of 8}% per annum compound. Continuous efforts have _aL ways been made to make the
NEW POLICY
In the following year, Irish Life introduced a Marriage Savings policy for young women starting work. The policy was designed to give a dowry on marriage or an endowment assurance if they did not marry.
One of the most successful ventures of the Company was the pioneering and development of Employee Deduction Schemes which enables premiums for any type of policy to be deducted regularly from wage packets or salaries.
In 1969 Irish Life introduced another winner to the life assurance market — Property Modules Saving Plan and Property Modules Bond. In the first six months of operation these plans have shown a remarkable 7% growth for policyholders.
In keeping with a lively marketing policy the Company is continually researching and investigating new types of life assurance plans and further new policies are in the pipe line.
PENSION SCHEMES
It is not generally realised that Irish Life underwrite approximately two thirds of all the insured pension scheme business in Ireland. This business is fiercely competitive and Irish Life’s success reflects not alone very competitive rates but also an unparalleled standard of service to brokers and clients.
ANNUITES
In recent years Irish Life have been frequently quoted as the leader in the tables of immediate annuity rates available in the British Isles. Since 1967 they have been in the top five. Currently an’ annuity of £1,424 per annum payable half yearly in arrear can be purchased for £10.000 by a man aged 65.
MARKET SHARES
For the man in the street it is difficult, to visualise the size and cope of Irish Life’s activities. In addition to the Chief Office in , Mespil Road there are fifteen district teams operating from eleven district offices and covering every part in Ireland. With over one and a half million policies in force the Company plays an important role in providing a very convenient savings medium with the added advantage of financial security for dependants in the case of death of the breadwinner. In fact the range of policies has been designed to meet the needs of every man, woman, child and family in Ireland. Over £20,000 is paid out in claims every day, a statistic