Vol. 454 No. 5
28 Mr. D. Ahern asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment his views on the recent Society of Irish Motor Insurers' submission on vehicle insurance in general and in particular to the section in the submission dealing with age discrimination; and if he will make a statement on the matter, dealing particularly with the great divergence of quotations. [10525/95]
I welcome the recent submission of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry and, in particular, its suggestions aimed at reducing the frequency of accidents involving new and young drivers. Most of these suggestions are for consideration by my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, and will be brought to his attention.
With regard to the issue of age discrimination raised by the society and the divergence of premium quotations offered to young drivers, I would point out that insurers authorised to operate in this State must meet their statutory reserves and solvency requirements. In order to meet these requirements and to operate on a viable basis, insurers must be allowed to set their premiums for young and more experienced drivers, respectively, by reference to their underwriting experience.
The Motor Insurance Advisory Board in its 1993 Annual Report concluded, on the basis of its own evaluation of claims data obtained from insurers, that young drivers constitute a high risk category and that the premiums charged to young drivers do, in fact, reflect the claims experience of such drivers as a category.
