Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 July 2017
183. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of complaints that have been made in each of the past four years in respect of travel insurance products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34250/17]
View answerThe Department of Finance does not hold information on complaints taken in relation to travel insurance products. However, the Financial Services Ombudsman ("FSO") collects such data and publishes it each year as part of their annual review. The mission statement of the FSO is to “resolve disputes between consumers and financial service providers in a fair, timely and impartial manner and to contribute to enhancing the financial services environment for all consumers”.
According to the Annual Reports of the Financial Services Ombudsman the number of complaints that have been made to the FSO in each year since 2011 in respect of travel insurance are as follows:
|
Year |
No of complaints received by the FSO |
|
2016 |
137 |
|
2015 |
170 |
|
2014 |
203 |
|
2013 |
234 |
|
2012 |
325 |
|
2011 |
361 |
The figures show that the number of complaints received each year has been decreasing steadily since 2011.
In addition, according to the official statistics of the Central Statistics Office, there has been no change in the price of travel insurance since May 2016.
Since 2009, the price of travel insurance has remained stable. In May 2009 the index was at 98.8; it is currently at 100. During the intervening years it has gone up and down, reaching no higher than 107.5.
The FSO annual reports are available on its website at https://www.financialombudsman.ie/publications/
