Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 April 2022
183. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Finance if matters raised in correspondence by a person (details supplied) will be reviewed; the steps his Department is taking to address this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21639/22]
View answerI note that the details supplied relate to the cost of Employers’ Liability insurance for an SME, and the Government’s insurance reform agenda. As the Deputy will appreciate, I am unable to comment on individual cases. Moreover, neither I nor the Central Bank of Ireland can direct the pricing or provision of insurance products, as this is a commercial matter which individual companies assess on a case-by-case basis. This position is reinforced by the EU Single Market framework for insurance (the Solvency II Directive).
That said, I would note that the second Implementation Report of the Action Plan for Insurance Reform, published in March this year, showed that insurance reform is progressing well, with some 80% of actions in the Plan now being delivered, and the remaining initiated. It is my hope that the cumulative impact of these reforms will be to improve both the cost and availability of insurance for businesses, particularly SMEs, as well as consumers and other groups.
We are now committed to working with colleagues across Government to deliver the outstanding actions, with a view to improving the affordability of cover in all sectors, including liability insurance for businesses.
I would note that according to the first National Claims Information Database (NCID) Report on Employers’ Liability, Public Liability and Commercial Property insurance, published last year, many businesses are accessing affordable insurance. The Report shows that in 2019, the average premium for package policies was €2,269, and 93% of all policies had a premium of less than €5,000.
Nonetheless, I do accept that premiums for some businesses and organisations may still be rising. This may be due to particular issues in those sectors, which our Action Plan is addressing. The insurance reform agenda is still ongoing and it may take some time for the benefits of the reforms to feed through to reduced premiums and greater availability of insurance for businesses and other groups.
