Peadar Tóibín
Question:76. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Finance the efforts he and his Department have taken to lower insurance premiums or for insurance firms to honour their pledge to reduce premiums. [59173/21]
View answerWednesday, 1 December 2021
Questions (76)
Written answers
As committed to in the 2020 Programme for Government, Government is prioritising reform of the insurance sector with particular emphasis on motor, public, and employer liability insurance. The whole-of-Government approach being taken through the Action Plan for Insurance Reform, which sets out 66 actions that aim to improve both the cost and availability of this key financial service, particularly for businesses.
A number of the actions from the Action Plan fall under the responsibility of my Department. This includes the expansion of the National Claims Information Database (NCID) to include information on employer and public liability insurance claims – the first report of which was published in July this year. The enhanced transparency this provides is key to further developing our understanding of how claims costs are impacting premiums, and in particular, the relationship between the price paid by a customer for a policy and the cost to insurance undertakings.
Other actions that have been taken by my Department include the establishment of the Office to Promote Competition in the Insurance Market, which is chaired by Minister of State Fleming. Since its establishment, the Office has held meetings with wide range of stakeholders including insurance bodies, civil society and other state regulators on the issues of competition and switching, which are key for lowering insurance premiums. Furthermore, the Department is also working closely with IDA Ireland to target firms to enter the Irish market and leverage the ongoing reforms to the insurance environment here, with the aim of increasing competition. In addition, Department is collaborating with the Central Bank to create an insurance databank, which will assist new providers seeking to enter the Irish insurance market.
The adoption of the new Personal Injuries Guidelines by the Judicial Council was another key measure in the reform agenda. As the Deputy will appreciate, consistent implementation of these Guidelines by insurers, the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) and the judiciary will be vital in achieving an improved claims environment. These are early days in relation to assessing the impact of the Guidelines. However as the insurance reform agenda progresses, we will continue to hold the industry to account on its commitment to reflect savings from the Guidelines, and other elements of the reforms, to customers. Minister of State Fleming, in his ongoing engagement with the sector, has emphasised the need for insurance providers to reduce premiums and increase their risk appetite to provide cover in new areas. The Minister recently met with the main insurers to assess their response to the Guidelines, and to emphasise the importance of insurers when settling claims, to not undermine the Guidelines by settling for amounts that are inconsistent with them.
Finally, I would like to assure the Deputy that work remains ongoing across Government to deliver further elements of the Action Plan, including measures to reform the PIAB, reduce fraud, and make changes to the duty of care, which is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Justice. It is my hope that the implementation of these key actions in particular should have a positive impact on the affordability and availability of insurance for individuals, businesses, community and voluntary groups across Ireland.