Brian O'Shea
Question:319 Mr. O’Shea asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his proposals to regulate motor insurance premiums (details attached); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31072/04]
View answerTuesday, 30 November 2004
Questions (265)
Written answers
The pricing and underwriting of insurance is a matter for individual insurance companies and EU law prevents Governments from intervening in the matter. EU law precludes the imposition of price controls on insurance.
I would also like to point out that the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority, under the aegis of the Minister for Finance, now regulates and supervises insurance undertakings since its establishment on 1 May 2003. The Minister for Finance retains overall responsibility for policy and legislation on the provision of financial services in Ireland, including insurance.
A key concern to which the Government is giving priority is the cost and availability of insurance. In this context, the Government launched a comprehensive set of inter-related measures, across a number of Departments designed to improve the functioning of the Irish insurance market.
Key initiatives relating to my Department include the establishment of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, which commenced operations on 1 June 2004, and the undertaking of a joint study into insurance by my Department in conjunction with the Competition Authority.
Key initiatives relating to the Department of Transport include action in the areas of road safety and driver behaviour, for example, the introduction of the penalty points system. A new Road Traffic Bill was published on 11 June 2004 and is currently before the Houses of the Oireachtas. A new road safety strategy was published in September 2004.
Key initiatives relating to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform include reform of the law on personal injury claims. The Civil Liability and Courts Act, which includes measures to tackle fraudulent and exaggerated claims and streamline the law relating to personal injury claims was enacted on 21 July 2004.
The reform programme is contributing to reductions in insurance premia. The CSO consumer price index statistics show that there was a reduction of 19.2% in car insurance between the months of April 2003 and October 2004.
The primary ongoing insurance focus of my Department will be from the horizontal competitiveness perspective and competition, in conjunction with the Competition Authority, and to oversee the PIAB. The Minister for Transport has taken over the lead role on policy and legislation on the availability and cost of motor insurance and any related inter-departmental co-ordination.