asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if, as a result of the recent increase in motor insurance premiums, he is satisfied that the companies to which the increases were awarded are now open to receive applications for new motor insurance premiums.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Motor Insurance.
13.
I am satisfied, from the close watch which I am keeping on the situation, that companies are now, much more so than in the past few years, ready to consider applications for new motor insurance cover but there is still room for improvement, and I expect this to come about within the next couple of months by which time the rationalisation of the rates of all the motor insurers will have been implemented.
Would the Parliamentary Secretary accept that there are still people who cannot get insurance and, if they complain to his Department, is there anything that can be done about this?
I cannot say definitively that there are not some people who still cannot get insurance but I can say there has been a very definite improvement in the situation. The Department have been keeping a close watch on the situation and have sought statistics from companies on the amount of new business since the beginning of 1975. Nine of the 15 motor insurance companies were in a position to supply the Department with some figures of their intake of new business since January. These figures show that the nine motor insurers issued in excess of 16,500 new policies; five of the nine were in a position to show that their business increased by amounts varying between 100 per cent and 400 per cent over the corresponding period 12 months earlier. It will be clear from these figures that there is a general opening up of motor insurance and the figures are all the more impressive when it is remembered that sales of new motor vehicles have dropped considerably in the same period. It is felt that the full impact of the Minister's decision on the motor insurance market situation will not be evident for about another two months by which time all loading reduction schemes will have been implemented.
Has the Parliamentary Secretary been supplied with any figures indicating the number of applications that have been refused?
I have information which indicates that the number of complaints received by the Department of Local Government in relation to insurance matters has declined very rapidly. In the period January, 1973, to February, 1974, a total of 377 complaints were received; in the period from June, 1974, to February, 1975, only 108 complaints were received. That indicates a significant improvement although it does not indicate that there are not still people who feel they have cause for complaint.
Would it be possible for the Paliamentary Secretary to request his Minister for Industry and Commerce to make it quite clear to the public in some way, first, what companies are in fact entitled or cleared to increase their premiums and, secondly, where they have been allowed to increase their premiums what compensatory benefits by way of non-loading and accident free bonuses are made available? The whole thing at the moment seems to be one where we know there are increases and we can find the increases but we can find nothing to compensate for them, as we were promised when the Minister was negotiating these new deals with these people.
Contrary to what the Deputy says, the information I gave in relation to earlier supplementary questions indicates that there has, in fact, been a very significant improvement in relation to new applicants getting cover.
I am not talking about those.
That is a compensatory improvement for the increases in the premium.
I am not concerned only about applicants. I am concerned about owner applicants who were given to understand, in a vague sort of way, that certain companies, unspecified, were entitled to increase their premiums six months ago by as much as 30 per cent and I am asking the Parliamentary Secretary whether it would be possible for the Minister for Industry and Commerce to set out clearly for the public in general and motor owners in particular just what companies have produced schemes acceptable to him, the details of those schemes and, in addition, to the 30 per cent increase——
A brief question, please. This is a very long question.
I am asking a comprehensive question in regard to a matter about which I would hope the Parliamentary Secretary and his Minister might be able to do something. Not to leave the public in the position in which they are at the moment, would he make known what the details of the whole set-up are because the position is most obscure? I would ask the Parliamentary Secretary to take note of the fact also that the reduction in the number of complaints as to the non-availability of insurance does not answer the question really and does not deal with the overall situation.
This is more like a speech now.
I will give the Deputy as much information as I can. Following an examination by a specialised ad hoc motor premium advisory committee of the National Prices Commission the Minister agreed to an increase in premiums with the companies concerned. I cannot give the names of the companies.
Are they all in it?
I cannot say. I presume they all are. I have no reason to believe that there is any company exempt from these arrangements but I will have it checked. It was in two phases and in effect it gave a 30 per cent increase on each company's previous rates plus a further 10 per cent in return for a balancing reduction in the company's loadings. All companies effected the balancing reduction so that the net effect is an increase in the basic rates of 40 per cent with reductions varying from company to company in loadings and, as I indicated in an earlier reply, these loading reductions schemes have not yet come fully into effect with all the companies. They are not likely to be equally in effect for a further two months and this may account for the difficulty to which the Deputy is adverting but, if he waits for a further two months, he may find the situation has improved.
May I ask the Minister——
The Chair has allowed a good deal of time on this question.
May I say to the Minister that it is not acceptances that are causing the trouble; it is the refusals that are causing the difficulty.
We have a good monitoring system.