Setanta chief returns to industry as business solutions boss

Matthews, who set up the consulting arm of Sevitt in 2003, was originally tasked with creating and launching Setanta. He was eventually asked to run it.

He spent five years as CEO at the insurer and simultaneously kept his CEO role at Sevitt Consulting. Matthews left when Setanta shareholders failed to back his vision to grow the business internationally.

He told Post that returning to Sevitt Group as CEO was a "natural" move.

"Sevitt and I want to grow the business internationally. Setanta shareholders wanted to focus on the Irish market. Sevitt’s focus has always been business solutions," he said.

Sevitt consists of consulting, management and technology divisions.

"Our clients are small niche insurers looking for that competitive edge to compete against big multinational players," Matthews explained.

"The majority of our insurer clients are UK-based but we have some in Ireland and two projects with American insurers."

The business also helps commercial clients find alternative insurance.

"We are working on a significant number of varied and complex projects focused on reorganising businesses, embracing technology, looking at data management to aid profitability and the development of bespoke products," said Matthews.

The 40-strong business is working on two more projects preparing insurers for pillar two of Solvency II reporting.

Matthews added: "Insurers that can consistently and accurately access, manage, analyse and monitor portfolio data in real time will be able to deploy capital in a more flexible and decisive manner leading to lower solvency capital requirements, controlled underwriting profits and increased shareholder value.

"Such insurers will flourish under the new regulatory regime and those that don’t - or can’t - will struggle.

"Historically, business processes and data management to this level and degree of flexibility is an area where the insurance industry has consistently underperformed.

"Insurance’s historical methodology is buy it high, sell it cheap. That is not sustainable. There has to be a new way of thinking."