Vol. 402 No. 7
14 Mr. J. O'Keefe asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that no insurance company will now provide new insurance cover for holiday homes; if he will address this problem as a matter of urgency due to its major implications for the development of tourism; and if he will make a statement on the action he proposes to take.
I would like to remind the Deputy, that my primary and indeed statutory duty as the insurance supervisory authority is to ensure that insurance companies maintain their statutory reserves and solvency requirements. I must, therefore, respect the right of insurance firms to make their own underwriting decisions including the acceptance or rejection of any risk in the light of their particular underwriting experience. No legal obligation can be placed on an insurer to quote in respect of any risk or to quote at any particular premium or in any particular manner. I am not responsible for the day to day running of insurance companies or the exercise of business acumen on their behalf.
Insurers deal with applications for household insurance cover, including holiday homes, on a case by case basis. As with all forms of non-life insurance, difficulties can be experienced by some people in obtaining cover. However, in cases where property cover cannot be obtained despite reasonable efforts to place the risk in the Irish market, the Irish Insurance Federation, following discussions in February, 1987, agreed that its property standing committee would re-examine such cases on the strict understanding that it cannot guarantee that cover will be provided.
Before any case can be submitted to the federation for consideration it is necessary that at least half the market, approximately 12 companies including Lloyds, be approached without success. Evidence of these approaches, e.g. a letter from a broker, together with a brief synopsis of the risk should be forwarded to the insurance section of my Department who will refer the matter to the federation. I must emphasise that, while this arrangement is reasonably successful, no guarantee can be given that cover will be forthcoming in each individual case.
Thus it can be seen that facilities already exist to assist in cases where difficulty arises in obtaining insurance cover for property, including holiday homes.
My question No. 5 is related to this. Would the Minister agree that as a member of the Government he has responsibility to see to it that this economy is developed in whatever way possible? Would he agree also that tourism happens to be one of our main industries, that part of that industry relates to the development of the holiday home type holiday, and that it is insufficient to say that his only responsibility is to see to it that insurance companies remain viable? Would the Minister agree also that he has a responsibility to see to it that law and order is maintained so that premiums will not escalate and so that markets are made available to the people we represent to insure their homes, to insure homes for individuals who live abroad but want to come here to spend their money during the summertime? Would the Minister not agree that it is not good enough to say to young people "you cannot get motor insurance, you have to traipse around 12 companies before you come near my Department"? Would the Minister not agree that it is not good enough to say that insurance premiums that cost £1,500 here, if they can be got, would cost only £600 in Northern Ireland? Would he not agree also that statistics recently produced clearly indicate that there are more fatalities on the roads in Northern Ireland than on the roads here bearing in mind the number of cars and the number of accidents——
This is a very long question.
——and that because of all this, the continuous points being put forward by the Minister and his Department that his sole responsibility is to see to it that insurance companies remain viable is just not good enough and would he not agree——
Please, Deputy.
A final supplementary. Would he not agree that it is our responsibility to see to it that because of increasing high premiums we will not have more and more uninsured cars on our roads that the rest of us will have to fund, and would he not agree——
Please Deputy, this is not good enough. The Deputy is making a mockery of Question Time by embarking on a speech.
Would he not agree that——
The question is about holiday homes.
I also have a question with regard to liability.
You will resume your seat now, Deputy. This is Question Time.
I am not being disorderly.
If you want to debate this matter, you will have to find another time.
We can get no other time, except at Question Time. We do not get answers.
The question to which I have been asked to reply relates to insurance cover for holiday homes——
——and not to any other matter. Since 1 January of this year my Department received four complaints regarding the availability of household and property insurance cover on the market. One of the four relates to a holiday home. Therefore it could be said that there is not a serious problem with regard to the provision of this kind of insurance——
That is not true.
——if such a small number of complaints were received.
There was only one company quoting for this type of insurance.
Needless to say, if difficulties arise my Department will endeavour with the Irish Insurance Federation to overcome them. In many cases that has been the procedure and I hope it will continue to be the case.
