Ms Linda Murray:

It is not our experience that there has been a surge in claims. Half of our centres have no claims. This is what does not make any sense and why I would challenge an Irish underwriter or insurance company to look at us. Obviously, in my case, there are exaggerated and fraudulent claims. One hates to see them coming through the door and there are many sleepless nights over them. However, as a sector, we do not have a huge number of such claims and there does not seem to have been a significant increase in them, yet our premiums are increasing by 300% and some centres cannot get insurance. There is no transparency in how this is calculated. When my insurance premium increased from €8,000 to €16,000, I asked what was the reason for the increase. The broker told me that was just the way it was. I had no claims in that year, but my premium increased from €8,000 to €16,500. When one questions the increase, one is told that there is one underwriter offering insurance and it is the only option. I took out a personal loan to pay that premium because there is no way that one would have that money lying around. One pays it over the year and prays that one will not have a claim during that time. We are all on tenterhooks.

A significant issue is that many of our businesses such as leisure centres are based in units in industrial parks where one must take out a four year and nine month lease. In God's name, how can one take out a lease for four years and nine months when one does not know what one's insurance premium will be the next year or the year after that? How can one tell a bank that one can take out a five-year loan to pay for a new set of laser tag equipment such as that we received a couple of weeks ago and be able to will repay it over a few years when one does not know where one will be with insurance in one year? One year ago, I did not know I would not get insurance this year.