Mr. Gerry Cross:

As a regulator, our objective is to ensure to the extent possible that we have a well-functioning market in insurance products, that companies are well run and financially sound with strong and effective governance and that they operate in the interests of consumers in terms of fairness, suitability of products and clarity of pricing. Acknowledging very much the issue the Senator identifies, the answer goes back to what I said to Senator Conway-Walsh at the beginning. Whenever one wants to provide a compensation scheme and there is money to be paid into it, one has a distribution question. It is hard to avoid that distribution question. My answer to the question Senator O'Donnell puts relates to the work that has been done by this committee and the cost-of-insurance working group under the Minister of State at the Department of Finance. Various pieces, proposals for change and recommendations emerged there and the work is ongoing. It is about bringing forward improvements in transparency and a review of how the costs of claims are divided and arise. All of those things will contribute to there being a more effective motor insurance market. We are seeing a moderation in premium levels.