Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 January 2017
267. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Finance his plans to introduce a regulation obliging car insurance companies to accept no claims bonuses, or other evidence of safe driving records, of returned emigrants when they are being provided with quotes for car insurance. [1160/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra268. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Finance the steps he will take to ensure that car insurance companies do not discriminate against returning emigrants when offering quotes, particularly, but not limited to, tackling the unfair practice of treating returned drivers with safe driving records while abroad as new drivers. [1161/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 267 and 268 together.
As Minister for Finance, I am responsible for the development of the legal framework governing financial regulation. Neither I nor the Central Bank of Ireland can interfere in the provision or pricing of insurance products, as these matters are of a commercial nature, and are determined by insurance companies based on an assessment of the risks they are willing to accept. This position is reinforced by the EU framework for insurance which 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.
However, I do accept that it is possible for the State to play a role in helping to stabilise the market and deal with factors contributing to the cost of insurance. Consequently, I established the Cost of Insurance Working Group and appointed Minister of State Eoghan Murphy as Chair. The Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance was finalised in December 2016, approved by Cabinet on 10 January 2017, and subsequently published. It contains 33 recommendations and 71 actions which are detailed in an action plan contained in the Report with agreed timelines for implementation.
The Working Group determined it was not possible to legislate to require insurers to provide quotations that take into account previous driver history in other jurisdictions because this is a commercial decision for the respective companies.
However, Recommendation 6 of the Report aims to address the problems faced by returning emigrants through the introduction of a standard protocol for insurance providers, to ensure a greater consistency of treatment for returning emigrants. The action points pursuant to this Recommendation include Insurance Ireland being tasked with developing a standard information protocol for insurers to include information about a company's policy as regards acceptance of previous driver history in other jurisdictions, the validation process for such history, to provide clarity on the relevant documentation needed, and the need to make it clear about the necessity to call the insurance company rather than get an online quotation. This protocol is required to be in place by the end of 2017.
Further, by Q2 2017, insurers are being asked to implement procedures to enable the acceptance of driver experience from abroad when a person has previous driving experience in Ireland and is coming from a country that drives on the left side of road and to take full account of the experience in that country and previous experience in Ireland when pricing a policy. By Q4 2017, insurers are being asked to implement a similar procedure in relation to experience gained in a country that drives on the right hand side of the road. Insurance Ireland will submit a report to the Department of Finance on the implementation of these procedures in Q2 and Q4 2017.
