A home for insurance innovation? Gary Leyden on why Ireland needs to become a global testing ground.
Ireland’s insurance market is at an interesting pivot point. It is stable, well-regulated and globally significant, yet increasingly asked to accommodate new forms of underwriting, claims automation, data-driven risk modelling, embedded distribution and AI-led assessment.
The question facing policymakers is no longer whether innovation is coming, but whether Ireland wants to shape it domestically or watch it be tested and proven elsewhere.
“A digital sandbox would help Ireland continue exporting innovation while remaining an active site of experimentation”
Insurance modernisation has been the subject of thoughtful discussion in recent years. What has been missing is the structured tool that turns dialogue into controlled experimentation.
Digital sandbox
A digital sandbox, widely used in other sectors internationally, could provide exactly that. This would sit alongside, and complement, the Central Bank’s regulatory sandbox, by focusing on the commercial and technology risks that insurers and vendors need to explore earlier in the innovation process.
Importantly, the role of a digital sandbox is not to question Ireland’s regulatory strength. It works because the regulatory system is trusted. The Irish InsurTech Report 2025 shows a sector that is optimistic and scaling, with more than 120 active firms and 86% planning international expansion.
At present, innovation is occurring in pockets. Individual insurers are exploring AI for claims triage, analytics-driven underwriting, or parametric triggers for flood and weather events. These projects move carefully and deliberately, which is appropriate.
Yet many firms, both established and emerging, report that the biggest barriers are not ideas or talent, but logistics: access to test data, integration with legacy systems and the ability to validate new tools without committing to a full rollout.
A digital sandbox can reduce that friction. It does not remove governance. Instead, it provides a structured space to test commercial and technology risk, with pilots running on anonymised or synthetic datasets and with agreed parameters. A claims automation tool could be tested against historic claims data without binding policies. A mobility-based pricing model could be evaluated for fairness. An AI underwriting assistant could be trialled responsibly before wider deployment.
Ireland is positioned to lead
The 2025 report captures a market that has evolved from startup promise to global presence. Firms such as FINEOS, DOCOsoft and Inaza are delivering real change in major markets while retaining strong Irish roots. The theme of this year’s report, Going Global, reflects ambition rather than absence. Irish firms are selling into the UK, Europe and the US.
Ireland’s participation in the Global InsurTech Alliance adds another dimension. It creates structured access to collaborative pilots, shared learning, accelerators and regulatory exchange.
A digital sandbox ultimately benefits policyholders. It allows tools for faster claims assessment, fairer pricing, clearer injury evaluation and parametric protection for storms or floods to be tested in Ireland, under Irish rules, before reaching customers. This reduces disputes, shortens settlement times and supports transparency. It also ensures that the learning and evidence produced by early experimentation stays in Ireland, strengthening our position as a place where insurance technology is both developed and proven.
Ireland is well positioned to lead. It is home to major carriers, deep actuarial talent, a growing technology cohort and a regulator with international credibility. A digital sandbox would enhance this ecosystem by encouraging a greater frequency of safe experimentation and supporting firms at earlier stages of innovation.
At a time when 92.9% of Irish InsurTechs say AI will underpin their next phase of growth, giving the sector a clear way to validate systems at home is timely and practical.
A digital sandbox would help Ireland continue exporting innovation while remaining an active site of experimentation. The benefit is not speed alone, but clarity: evidence before impact and risk understood before risk transferred. If Ireland wants to lead the next phase of insurance development, the question is not why build one, but how to build one well.
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