Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 July 2018
76. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Finance the status of the work of the cost of insurance working group; the steps he is taking to address the increase many businesses are experiencing in their insurance premiums; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28792/18]
View answerBoth I and the Government are very conscious of the difficulties that increased insurance costs are having on the business sector.
Consequently, following the publication of its Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance in January 2017, the Cost of Insurance Working Group undertook an examination of the Employer Liability and Public Liability insurance sectors in its second phase of work. While a number of the recommendations in the Motor Report are relevant to the area of business insurance – in particular, the recommendations regarding the Book of Quantum, the Personal Injuries Assessment Board and the establishment of the Personal Injuries Commission – it became clear in preparing the Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance that there was also a pressing need to examine the drivers for the rising cost of business insurance.
The second phase work culminated in the publication on January 25 2018 of the Report on the Cost of Employer and Public Liability Insurance, following its approval by Government. This new Report makes 15 recommendations with 29 associated actions to be carried out, detailed in an Action Plan contained in the Report with agreed timelines for implementation.
The recommendations, covering three main themes, include actions to:
- Increase Transparency: enhance levels of transparency and improve data sharing and collection processes,
- Review the level of damages in personal injury cases: request that the Law Reform Commission undertake a detailed analysis of the possibility of developing constitutionally sound legislation to delimit or cap the amounts of damages which a court may award in respect of some or all categories of personal injuries, and
- Improve the personal injuries litigation framework: through a number of measures, including:
a. ensuring potential defendants are notified in sufficient time that an incident has occurred in relation to which a claim is going to be made against their policy;
b. tackling fraudulent or exaggerated claims; and
c. ensuring suitable training and information supports are available to the Judiciary to assist in the fair and consistent assessment and awarding of damages in personal injury cases.
All 29 actions are scheduled to be implemented before the end of 2019, with 26 due for completion this year. The fifth Quarterly Progress Update on implementation was published on 11 May and shows that in respect of the actions from the Report on the Cost of Employer and Public Liability Insurance due for completion in Q1 2018, all eight deadlines have been met.
In relation to the Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance, as you are aware from a recent PQ response, of the 50 separate deadlines set up to the end of Q1 2018 within the Action Plan, 40 have been met, while substantial work has also been undertaken in respect of the nine action points categorised as “ongoing”.
The sixth Quarterly Progress Update is expected to be published before the end of July 2018 and will focus in particular on the 14 actions – seven from each of the primary Reports – due for completion in Q2 2018.
Both of the primary Reports and all of the quarterly updates are available on the Department’s website, within “The Cost of Insurance Working Group” sub-section of the main “Insurance” section.
The Working Group will continue to focus on implementing the recommendations of the Report on the Cost of Employer and Public Liability Insurance in parallel with implementing those from the 2017 Motor Report. I am hopeful that the cumulative effects of the completion of the two Reports’ recommendations will include increased stability in the pricing of insurance for businesses.
