Brendan Smith
Question:181. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Finance the legislative proposals he plans to publish in relation to necessary insurance reform; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48338/18]
View answerTuesday, 20 November 2018
Questions (181)
Written answers
As the Deputy is aware, the Cost of Insurance Working Group was established in July 2016 to identify and examine the drivers of the cost of insurance and to recommend short, medium and long term measures, legislative and otherwise, to address the issue of increasing insurance costs, taking account of the requirement for the need to ensure a financially stable insurance sector.
The Working Group published its Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance in January 2017 and made 33 recommendations, along with a detailed Action Plan. This was followed in January of this year with a Report on the Cost of Public and Employer liability Insurance which made 15 recommendations and included its own Action Plan. The Personal Injuries Commission, which was established on foot of a recommendation of the Motor Report, has itself also delivered two reports which make a further 14 recommendations aimed at positively impacting the overall Irish claims environment.
Across the reports, legislative steps were recommended in a number of areas. Progress on the legislative measures taken by my Department to date are detailed below.
- The Insurance (Amendment) Act 2018 was enacted in July 2018 as part of the Implementation of the Review of the Framework for Motor Insurance Compensation in Ireland;
- The Central Bank (National Claims Information Database) Bill 2018 was published in July and is currently being considered in the Oireachtas. It is scheduled to undergo Committee Stage on 29 November. This will also include proposed amendments to Section 8 and Section 14 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004, following agreement with the Minister for Justice and Equality;
- The Insurance Distribution Directive was transposed in June 2018.
- The Department of Finance is also considering legislative measures in respect of Recommendation 8 of the Motor Report (developing a protocol for policyholders to be notified of claims made against them before settlement) and the equivalent recommendation from the EL/PL Report as this appears the only feasible solution to achieve the recommendation in the absence of an agreement with industry on a protocol.
- The report of the Cost of Insurance Working Group also makes legislative recommendations addressed to other Departments and Agencies, including:
- the enhancement of the powers of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, through the PIAB (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018, which completed Second Stage in the Dáil on 8 November;
- the Central Bank to consider amending the relevant regulations regarding communications between insurers and consumers, with regard to premium information and renewal notice periods. Consultations have concluded on this and the Bank is finalising its considerations in advance of proposing an amending statutory instrument;
- the consideration by the Department of Justice and Equality of measures necessary to implement Pre-Action Protocols for personal injury cases;
- the preparation of criminal justice legislation, if required, by the Department of Justice and Equality, to implement a fully functioning integrated insurance fraud database. It has not yet been established if legislation is required in this regard; and
- the requirement for insurance companies to provide the driver licence number as part of work to establish a fully functioning database to identify uninsured drivers, through a proposed amendment of the Road Traffic Act 2016, which is currently being considered by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, as part of the broader review of the database work.
Finally, I would note that the recommendations of the Personal Injuries Commission, with regard to establishing the Judicial Council, will require the progression of the Judicial Council Bill 2017 through the Houses of the Oireachtas. This Bill, which is currently awaiting Committee Stage in Seanad Éireann, is a legislative priority for the Government. I am informed by the Department of Justice and Equality that the intention is to make significant progress towards the enactment of the Bill by the end of this year. The Minister for Justice and Equality and his Department are currently examining the form which an appropriate amendment to the Bill would take and the options in that regard.
Should the Deputy require further detail on the above, he should consult the Cost of Insurance Working Group’s seventh quarterly update which was published recently and is available on my Department’s website: https://www.finance.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/7th-Progress-Update-Q3-2018-Focus-003.pdf