Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and Taoiseach to begin pre-legislative scrutiny of Insurance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021

The meeting at 1.30pm in Committee Room 2 of Leinster House will examine the Heads of the Bill with the Minister of State at the Department of Finance. Sean Fleming TD, and representatives of the Alliance for Insurance Reform and Insurance Ireland.

Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy John McGuinness said: “The Insurance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021 proposes to address a number of insurance issues that have arisen since the publication of the Action Plan for Insurance Reform in December 2020. These include insurers deducting Government payments from COVID-19-related claims settlements and the practice of applying a loyalty penalty to long-standing customers, known as price walking.

“The Bill introduces a requirement for insurers to inform consumers of any State supports they deduct from claims payments and enables the Central Bank of Ireland to collect data on such deductions through the National Claims Information Database. A new requirement on the Central Bank to report to the Minister for Finance about any steps it takes to address the practice of price walking is also proposed. The Committee looks forward to examining the Heads of this Bill with Minister Fleming, the Alliance for Insurance Reform and Insurance Ireland.”

The Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and Taoiseach has 13 Members, nine from the Dáil and four from the Seanad.

The meeting in Committee Room 2 can be viewed live on Oireachtas TV.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.