International specialist insurer Ecclesiastical has received clearance to operate as a third-country branch in Ireland after Brexit.

The UK-based company offers insurance products for the likes of churches, schools, fine art and heritage sites.

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It counts the National Gallery and the National Opera House among its customers in Ireland.

Ecclesiastical Ireland managing director David Lane said the business had been operating under the European freedom of services regulations.

“After Brexit, we had a couple of choices, either set up a full Irish entity or operate as a third-country branch,” he told the Sunday Independent. “To operate as a third country, we would have to have an advisory board, which we already have in place.

“It also meant that we would have to invest a little bit more capital here but that we would not have to set up a full board here.”

Lane said that maintaining the group’s A- ranking from rating agency Standard & Poor’s was very important to customers.

Such a rating, he said, would have been lost in the event of a new Irish entity being established.

The company repatriates its profits to a trust, which then distributes them to good causes.

Since 2016, the group has made €73m worth of charitable donations.

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