FBD share prices jumped on Thursday as Norwegian insurance company Protector Forsikrin hoovered up 6.3% of shares in the Irish company.

The Scandinavian company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

It offers land-based insurance to the commercial and public sector and its insurance is sold through brokers in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the UK and Finland.

Stock exchange notice

The company notified FBD and the stock exchange that it had acquired 6.3% of FBD’s shares on Thursday morning.

In 2018, Protector was rated the best business partner for the 13th year in a row by Norwegian insurance brokers.

It has also been ranked number one by brokers in Sweden and Denmark.

FBD shares rose on Thursday as a Norwegian insurer bought into the company.

FBD shares rose 8.4% in value from €7.10 on Thursday morning to a high of €7.88 before finishing at €7.74.

Loss

Earlier this year, FBD posted a loss of €4.4m in its core insurance underwriting business for 2020 as a result of the recent High Court ruling, which stated the insurer must pay out on business interruption claims made by publicans after the COVID-19 restrictions forced the closure of their premises.

Announcing full-year results for 2020 in March, FBD said it expected the net cost of paying out on all business interruption claims made by Irish publicans to be in the region of €65m.