Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 February 2019
34. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Finance his plans to implement measures to tackle the growing problem of rising insurance costs on motorists and businesses; and the progress on reducing insurance costs following the recent report on insurance. [9844/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy is aware, the Cost of Insurance Working Group was established in July 2016 and undertook an examination of the factors contributing to the increasing cost of insurance in order to identify what short, medium and long-term measures could be introduced to help reduce the cost of insurance for consumers and businesses.
Its Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance was published in January 2017 and makes 33 recommendations with 71 associated actions.
In its second phase, the Working Group examined the cost of business insurance, culminating in the publication of the Report on the Cost of Employer and Public Liability Insurance in January 2018, containing 15 recommendations with 29 associated actions.
Both reports contain both an Action Plan within which agreed timeframes for completion of actions are set out and a commitment to prepare regular updates on the progress of implementation. The seventh such update was published in November 2018 and shows that of the total number of 78 separate relevant deadlines within the Action Plans of the two Reports set up to the end of Q3 2018, 63 relate to actions which have been completed.
The Cost of Insurance Working Group will continue to focus on putting into place the measures proposed in the Reports. It is envisaged that the full implementation of all the recommendations from both Reports cumulatively, with the appropriate levels of commitment and cooperation from all relevant stakeholders, can achieve the objectives of delivering fairer premiums for consumers and businesses, and a more stable and competitive insurance market.
In this regard, it should be noted that the most recent CSO data (for January) indicates that private motor insurance premiums have decreased by 22% since peaking in July 2016. While it is accepted that premiums are still at a high level for many people, such statistics indicate at least a greater degree of stability in the market on an overall basis.
Finally, it is envisaged that the next quarterly Progress Update will be completed in the coming days and will concentrate in particular on outlining the definitive position in relation to all of the 33 recommendations from the Motor Report as the last of the deadlines within its Action Plan passed at the end of 2018.
