As the Deputy is aware, under the terms of the Declined Cases Agreement (DCA), which is adhered to by all motor insurers in Ireland, the insurance market will not refuse to provide insurance to an individual seeking motor insurance if he or she has approached at least three insurers and has not been able to obtain cover from them.
I am not responsible for the operation of the DCA and therefore I do not have direct access to the number of motor insurance policies entered into under the DCA process.
However, in order to be as helpful as I can, my officials contacted Insurance Ireland seeking the DCA application figures. In response, Insurance Ireland provided statistics on the number of cases it dealt with from 2014 to 2017 and Q1 of 2018. In relation to these cases, Insurance Ireland has informed my officials that all applications submitted were accepted by Insurance Ireland for processing under the DCA. It has also stated that a quotation was secured for every applicant.
The number of applications in each year from 2014 to 2017 is set out in the following table.
Year
|
Total
|
2017
|
1423
|
2016
|
1941
|
2015
|
1164
|
2014
|
669
|
In relation to quarter 1 of 2018, there were 322 applications. I am informed that the half yearly figures for 2018 will be available in September.