Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 May 2018
151. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance when he expects recommendation No. 13 of the report on the cost of motor insurance to be completed; if he is satisfied that a claim-by-claim register can be set up; if the data sub-group has addressed the cost implications to the State, the potential barriers to entry issues and the data protection issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22347/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraRecommendation 13 of the Cost of Insurance Working Group recommended that the Department of Finance consider the feasibility of a longer term insurance claim-by-claim register. Two associated actions were recommended as part of this recommendation:
- To establish a sub-group to consider the feasibility of a longer term claim by claim register by Q1 of 2018, and
- To Report on the feasibility of a claim by claim register by Q3 2018.
The Working Group’s Fifth Quarterly Progress Update was published on 11 May 2018: http://www.finance.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/5th-Progress-Update-Q1-2018-Focus.pdf. That Report outlines some of the progress to date on this recommendation.
In summary, in relation to the first action point, in Q1 of this year, the data sub-group, which was established to drive the implementation of each of the data related recommendations, commenced work on considering the feasibility of a longer term claim-by-claim register. It agreed a draft work plan and decided to undertake a consultation in Q2 with a view to seeking the views of stakeholders on the key considerations required when looking at the feasibility of a claim-by-claim register.
To that end, I launched a public consultation on 14 May 2018 and it is available on the Department of Finance’s website: http://www.finance.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/5th-Progress-Update-Q1-2018-Focus.pdf. It will remain open until 22 June 2018.
The objective of this consultation is to seek the views of stakeholders, including insurance undertakings and intermediaries, consumers, other state bodies and interest groups, on what the added value of a claim-by-claim register would be in addition to the National Claims Information Database and the Insurance Fraud Database. The National Claims Information Database is currently being developed by the Department of Finance and the Central Bank of Ireland, and the Insurance Fraud Database is currently being developed by the Department of Justice.
In particular, I am keen to try and identify what form a claim-by-claim register could take, as there are a diverse range of views in relation to this matter, as well as a number of considerations which would need to be satisfactorily taken account of, including those which the Deputy mentions, namely data protection, cost and potential barriers to entry.
Following the consultation process, the data Sub-group will review the responses, meet with relevant stakeholders and carry out its own further research. Given the timeline and work plan that are in place, I expect that the Report on the feasibility of a claim by claim register will be available by the Q3 deadline set down in the Report.
