AA Ireland

AA Ireland Ltd is an automotive services company in Ireland, founded in 1910. It provides rescue services, personal lines insurance, and travel, technical and information services.[1][2][3] Its AA Roadwatch service supplies traffic and travel information nationwide.

AA Ireland Ltd
IndustryAutomotive services
Founded1910 (1910)
HeadquartersSouth William Street, Dublin, Ireland
Area served
Ireland
Number of employees
420
Websitewww.theaa.ie

The company was formerly part of AA plc (The AA), the British automobile association, but they were separated in 2016 after AA Ireland was sold to Carlyle Cardinal Ireland.

Company and history
AA roundel (town sign) near to Duncormick, County Wexford, Ireland
An AA motorcycle sidecar were the same as those used in Ireland

AA Ireland employs over 500 people and its head office is located at Maryland House, Dublin, with its Rescue Centre based in the city centre and central patrol garage located at Naas Road, Dublin.

AA Ireland was historically part of the same group as The AA in the UK. However, it was sold in August 2016 to the American investment group Carlyle Cardinal Ireland (CCI), separating it from AA plc.[4]

AA Ireland provides emergency rescue for members in their home and on the road, sells insurance for over 225,500 Irish customers and breakdown cover for 300,000. Its branded rescue product, AA Membership, is held by over 300,000 members, giving the AA a market share of 85% in the market for those motorists who choose and purchase rescue cover. Through its breakdown service, The AA attends about 120,000 car break downs every year, with 80% of these being fixed on the spot. The AA also provides breakdown assistance to fifty percent of new cars as part of their warranty, in association with ARC Europe. AA Patrols are located nationwide.

The main AA activities include:

  • Vehicle breakdown / rescue service
  • AA Roadwatch – supplier of traffic and travel information
  • Insurance intermediary specialising in motor, home, life, and travel
  • Evaluation of second-hand vehicles, and the provision of information to members regarding new cars
  • Issuing of International Driving Permits (IDPs)
  • AA Signs Service (provision of temporary directional signage to events)
  • Inspection and grading of Irish Hotels, Guesthouses, B&Bs and tourist accommodation

AA Roadwatch

AA Roadwatch is the major supplier of traffic & travel information in Ireland, run by The AA. The AA Roadwatch service provides real-time traffic and travel information through live broadcasts, online and social media. The AA Roadwatch online RoutePlanner provides over 12 million detailed routes, per year, for Irish users, assisting drivers in finding the quickest routes to their destination.

AA Life Insurance

In 2016, AA Ireland began offering life insurance and mortgage protection through a partnership with Aviva plc, to both new and existing customers, as part of a new venture.

AA Travel Insurance

AA Travel Insurance offers a range of travel insurance policies including coverage for flight cancellations, lost or stolen luggage and medical expenses.

The AA offers annual (multi-trip) travel insurance, winter sports cover, backpacker cover, single-trip as well as European breakdown cover.

Hotel and restaurant grading

Alongside its work in the motor and insurance industries, AA Ireland also carries out inspections and gradings of Irish hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs and tourist accommodation. As part of this work, The AA Rosette Scheme is designed to recognise exceptionally high standards in culinary excellence demonstrated by AA Accredited properties across Ireland and the UK. The aim of the Rosette system is to provide reliable information for all patrons about where to eat. Rosettes are awarded on a rising scale of 1 to 5, where even one Rosette represents culinary excellence.

AA Ireland App

An AA app was first launched in 2013. The app can be used to check AA Roadwatch traffic updates in real time, provides journey planning assistance using AA Routeplanner, and has a "rescue" feature for members to report a breakdown and track the AA Patrol response.

The AA plays a role in international motoring through affiliation with the world's motoring clubs. The AA was a founder member of Alliance Internationale de Tourisme (AIT), whose member clubs represent more than 128 million members worldwide. The AA is also a shareholder in Arc Transistance which provides emergency roadside assistance throughout Europe.

The European Campaign for Safe Road Design

The European Campaign for Safe Road Design was a partnership between 28 European road safety stakeholders that called in 2009 for the EU to invest in safe road infrastructure initiatives, which the group claimed could cut deaths on European roads by 33% in less than a decade. AA Ireland was the campaign's partner in Ireland.

References
  1. "AA Ireland reveal they rescued kids locked into cars 460 times last year". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  2. "AA Ireland private equity backers motoring with €26.8m dividend". The Times. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  3. "How AA Ireland smoothed the road to more sales with bots". Computing.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  4. "AA Ireland sold to Carlyle Cardinal Ireland in multimillion euro cash deal". Irish Independent. Dublin: Independent News and Media. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
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