Insurance premiums per capita in Ireland are four times higher than the EU average, according to a report by the International Monetary Fund.

In its assessment of the insurance sector here, the IMF said that while insurance in Ireland is "well developed, diverse, and with a large international business presence", supervision of the sector could be improved.

The report stated that allocating sufficient supervisory resources "has been a challenge" for the Central Bank, which it sad is "facing important difficulties in attracting and retaining experienced supervisors".

It said that in 2014 the oversight system here was "generally stringent and up-to-date", but that there was still room for improvement.

At that time the IMF made 46 recommendations to improve oversight.

In the report it recommends that the Central Bank develop a strategy allowing it to "attract and retain experienced supervisors under the current economic constrains".

According to the publication, insurance penetration in Ireland is almost three times the EU average, with the reinsurance sector here the third largest in Europe.

Insurance penetration is the ratio of premiums underwritten in a given year to GDP.

Insurance in Ireland accounts for 3.6% of the total EU insurance premium, and the assets held by the sector amount to €321.3 billion, according to the IMF.

The report added that from the total insurance premium of €76 billion, €61.9 billion is on risks outside Ireland.

It also noted the majority of the insurers operating in Ireland are subsidiaries of large international insurance parents.