Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 January 2023
389. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Finance the steps that he is taking to ensure insurance providers offer reasonable flood insurance to households and businesses within flood relief scheme areas. [2426/23]
View answerAs Minister for Finance, I have policy responsibility for the development of the legal framework governing financial services regulation, including for the insurance sector. Within this context, it should be noted that the provision of insurance cover and the price at which it is offered is a commercial matter for insurance companies providing the service and is based on an assessment of the risks that such companies are willing to accept. Therefore, under the EU Solvency II Directive, neither I, as the Minister for Finance, nor the Central Bank of Ireland can compel insurers to provide such cover.
As the Deputy is aware, the Government has committed €1.3 billion to the delivery of these flood relief schemes over the lifetime of the National Development Plan to 2030. Responsibility for flood relief schemes is a matter for the Office of Public Works (OPW). Building on this Government investment, there is a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the OPW and Insurance Ireland. Under this MoU, the OPW provide information on all completed flood defence schemes to Insurance Ireland. In turn, its members take into account all of this information when assessing exposure to flood risk within these areas.
Arising from this, separate industry and Central Bank of Ireland surveys indicate there has been an overall increase in the provision of flood insurance over the last number of years and that the majority of policies in areas with fixed defences have flood cover. However, it is acknowledged that some households are still experiencing difficulties, particularly in areas with demountable flood defences - those defence systems that require action to be taken to prevent flooding.
This issue is the subject of the MoU working group between the Office of Public Works (OPW) and Insurance Ireland. Furthermore, officials from the Departments of Finance; Housing and Local Government; along with other stakeholders engage constructively with this process on how the levels of insurance cover might be improved in areas where flood defence works have been completed.
Finally, as has been the case, my Department will continue to monitor and assess any flood insurance matters, including through: its participation in the OPW and Insurance Ireland Working Group; actively encourage industry to have a more responsive approach to the matter; engage with the Central Bank of Ireland; and consider domestic and international policy developments to these issues as they arise.
