Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 4 Feb 1997

Vol. 474 No. 3

Written Answers. - Insurance Cover for the Disabled.

Michael Woods

Question:

37 Dr. Woods asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment if his attention has been drawn to the fact that people with disabilities regularly meet barriers and discrimination in obtaining insurance cover and that the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities, in its strategy for equality, recommended that unjustified barriers be removed through legislation; the action, if any, he plans in order to implement this recommendation; and the barriers, if any, he has identified in this regard. [24662/96]

Minister for Enterprise and Employment (Mr. R. Bruton)

I am aware of the fact that the report of the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities found that, in general, people with disabilities are at a disadvantage when seeking insurance cover and that drivers with disabilities, in particular, find it extremely difficult to obtain motor insurance cover.

My statutory responsibility in relation to insurance is to supervise the solvency of insurance companies authorised to underwrite insurance business in Ireland. My primary concern, therefore, is to ensure that insurance companies maintain adequate solvency margins and reserves to enable them to be in a position to meet claims as they arise. In that context individual companies when underwriting insurance risks must determine what is an appropriate premium for a specific risk depending on their own claims experience of that category of risk.

Subject to my statutory responsibility for the supervision of solvency, I am actively concerned about the cost and availability of insurance in the marketplace as evidenced by the major consultancy study which I commissioned on an economic evaluation of insurance costs in Ireland. The recommendations in that report are being currently progressed by my Department with the other Departments and agencies which would have a key role in their implementation. In addition, my Department maintains close liaison with the Irish Insurance Federation on behalf of persons who may be experiencing difficulty in obtaining insurance cover.

In relation to motor insurance the federation has assured me that the insurance industry is fully aware of the concerns of drivers with disabilities about the availability and cost of motor insurance. For this reason, the IIF's motor insurance members agreed ten years ago, following discussions with the various disabled drivers associations and the Government established motor Insurance Advisory Board to review any loadings imposed on drivers with disabilities.

Under this agreement, companies agreed that no loading should exceed 20 per cent of the premium in the first year of insurance, or 15 per cent in the second year, provided the driver was claim free. If, after two years, the driver continued to be claim-free, disabled driving loading would be dropped altogether.

On the question of the difficulty in obtaining motor cover, individual insurers may decide to decline any risk. However, here too all motor insurers are party to an agreement under which an insurer will be nominated to offer a quote if the customer has been unable to get a quote, having approached at least five insurance companies. Information about these agreements is available from the IIF's insurance information service at phone number 6761914.

The IIF maintains that motor insurers have a sympathetic attitude to health and disability issues. They generally accept people with non-degenerative disability subject to a satisfactory medical report — providing that, in cases of severe non-degenerative disability, the vehicle is adapted where necessary. In general, insurers do not impose an additional loading in cases of mild non-degenerative disability. Where the non-degenerative disability is more severe some companies may impose a loading. That said, there is an agreement in place between the IIF and the Department of Enterprise and Employment whereby loadings in respect of non-degenerative disability can be reviewed.

With regard to life insurance, I gather from the IIF that there is no standard code of practice governing underwriting criteria in this area. Life assurance companies treat each individual case on its own merits and on the basis of the insurers underwriting experience. In the case of the provision of household cover for disabled persons, I understand that, in certain instances, household insurance premiums may reflect any modifications carried out on property to cater for a specific disability.

Arising from the report of the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities, the Government decided to establish an interdepartmental task force under the chairmanship of my colleague, the Minister for Equality and Law Reform, to draw up a programme of measures for the implementation of the commission's recommendations.

The first meeting of the task force was held on 21 January last. My Department is represented on the task force in relation to addressing specific departmental issues raised by the commission.