Ms Dorothea Dowling:

I will cut across, if that is okay. The Central Statistics Office index is a published and reliable statistic and it is in the pack supplied to committee members. The index of motor insurance inflation has been coming down every year from 2003 to 2009. In 2009, the Central Bank asked all the non-life insurance companies to undertake a stress test. We all know from the banking inquiry what that is. Then, the price index actually went up in 2009. There was nothing in the claims market that I could identify which would have caused it. The fact that two elements of data correlate does not mean they are causative but my reading is that a stress test was done by the Central Bank. The sense was that there was too much price cutting in light of the new Solvency II Directive regime, which had been flagged since 2007. Then the index went up in 2009. I do not know the outcome of those stress tests but I imagine Central Bank representatives can tell committee members. However, it is history now; it is from the old regime. I cannot agree that this is only from past four or five years. In fact, I believe the difficulties started earlier. According to the data, following the stress tests, it started to go up a little. Then, the gender directive came in from January 2012, according to which men and women had to be charged the same. According to the data I have given the committee, this has caused insurance premiums to go up by 25% for males under 35 years. There are other factors as well but I was keen to point out these facts as a matter of data correctness. I am sorry for cutting across.