Vol. 477 No. 2
259 Mr. Dempsey asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the number of insurance companies currently undertaking motor insurance for persons under 21, under 25 and under 30; and the number of people under 25 who are currently insured. [8989/97]
There are presently 32 insurance undertakings authorised to underwrite motor insurance business in the Irish market including the provision of motor insurance cover for motorists in the age groups mentioned by the Deputy. The number underwriting the young driver market would, in practice, be less than that because of the associated high risk profile. This is a worldwide trend, although the Irish market suffers in this context from the small-scale size of the market relative to the UK motor insurance market, for example, in terms of numbers of companies.
The Irish Insurance Federation has indicated that, given that many young motorists may be named drivers on their parents' or other policies, it is not possible to provide a statistical profile of the current numbers of insured motorists under 25.
