Pearse Doherty
Ceist:31. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the legislative and regulatory steps he will implement to tackle inordinate motor insurance prices. [27535/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 29 September 2016
Ceisteanna (31)
Freagraí scríofa
The provision of insurance cover and the price at which it is offered is a commercial matter for insurance companies and is based on an assessment of the risks they are willing to accept and adequate provisioning to meet those risks. The Minister for Finance is responsible for the development of the legal framework governing financial regulation. The EU framework expressly prohibits Member States from adopting rules which require insurance companies to obtain prior approval of the pricing or terms and conditions of insurance products.
While the provision and pricing of insurance policies is a commercial matter for insurance companies, this does not preclude the Government from introducing measures which may lead to a better claims environment and reduce costs. The Cost of Insurance Working Group, which I chair, is undertaking a review of the factors which are influencing the increased cost of motor insurance. This is a complex matter to address and it involves a number of Government Departments, State Bodies and private sector organisations.
The Working Group brings together all the relevant Departments and Offices involved with the process. Its objective is to identify immediate and longer term measures which can address increasing costs, while bearing in mind the need to maintain a stable insurance sector.
The core areas to be examined by the Working Group in this first phase are the motor insurance sector generally, at present and in recent years; the effects of legal costs and litigation processes on insurance costs; the current claims compensation arrangements and the cost of claims; insurance data and information; the impact of accident rates; the impact of unlawful activity on the insurance sector; and other market issues
Because the issue of the cost of insurance is complex and in order to get to the heart of these issues as soon as possible, I have established four subgroups to review them in detail. Chairs have been appointed to these sub-groups and work has commenced. The subgroups are meeting weekly and their outputs are feeding into the meetings of the Working Group.
By the end of October the Working Group will provide the Minister for Finance with an update report which will set out the priority actions required. From November to December the Working Group will then develop an action plan to enable the relevant Government Departments/Offices to commence the implementation of these priority actions. Any proposed measures will be contained in this action plan. In this regard, I will be consulting regularly with Government colleagues.
Question No. 32 answered with Question No. 10.