Mr. Domhnall Cullinan:

We have had discussions with firms regarding dual pricing. I mentioned two firms that are not engaged in it; we are aware of the companies that engage in it. There are various levels of sophistication but I am not aware of any company accessing social media in the manner the Deputy suggests. It is a wide and complex area. I do not know whether the Deputy is familiar with Lemonade, an American company. Customers make their claims online. The company looks at the claimant's face and can tell - apparently with a 96% accuracy rate - whether the customer is lying. I am aware of another American firm that asks 13 questions on its proposal form and looks at 300 data points in the background. The reality is that the level of data and sophistication available differs somewhat between Ireland, the UK and the United States. That is why we need to progress this investigation and establish exactly what is happening.

This runs a little deeper than price differentiation because there are other issues. Ultimately, insurance is about the pooling of risk. Things could get to a stage whereby risk is disaggregated to such an extent that a person who is a very low risk will get a very low price but other people may be completely priced out of the market. That would be of concern. Things have not yet reached that point anywhere. We need to pursue the investigation to look at current price differentiation in the Irish market and determine its extent. We are well aware of the ethical and fairness risks that exist.