Dáil debates

Wednesday, 20 April 2016

4:00 pm

Photo of Danny Healy-RaeDanny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not think I will need ten minutes because much of what I have to say has already been covered. However, the increase in the cost of insurance is considerable. A figure of 30% has been mentioned for young drivers. These are young people trying to go to work. They include apprentices starting out or people starting new jobs on small incomes or wages. They have been getting quotes anywhere as high as €5,000. That is not on. It is enticing these youngsters to stay at home rather than attempt to go out to work.

4 o’clock

If they have to pay €3,000, €4,000 or €5,000, it is too much for these young fellows and girls who are starting out. This category is hit more and hit harder than all the other categories of drivers.

It is unfair that older cars can go through the rigours of passing the national car test, NCT, and be in a legal road state but insurers will not insure them. This means another category of people will not be on the road because they cannot afford a newer or dearer car. There is nothing wrong with the cars they have as they would have an NCT. They are not even being given a quote. Families may have a second car, with a wife or partner at home having a car to bring children to and from school. These people have to drop one car and it is making it very difficult for them to survive in rural areas. I was disappointed with the economist Mr. Dan O'Brien, who wrote an article a few weeks ago for the Sunday Independentarguing that the upturn in the economy had reached all 26 counties in Ireland. I resent that and say to him that when people like those we are highlighting now are faced with increased costs, it is unfair to say that equal improvement has been felt in all 26 counties. The county I represent is very rural and expansive, and one cannot manage in any part of the county without a car. In Dublin and the cities there is the Luas and all the other types of public transport, but it is not available to people in rural Ireland. I was very disappointed to read Mr. O'Brien's assertion in the paper two weeks ago last Sunday.

People with commercial vehicles, including hauliers, are also seeing effects on their businesses in a big way. There was a reduction in the tax rate last year, which I appreciate, but these people are back at square one because of the increased cost of insurance. From personal knowledge I know that when somebody makes a claim against a person and the insurance companies should fight it, the companies often do not want to do it. We will not name the companies but they seem to pay the person making the claim. They do not fight the claim, even when the insured person feels he or she is right. They just pay out the claim and charge the insured party more. The practice must be regulated and something must be done, as it is very unfair. An insured party may feel that the blame should at least be assigned 50-50, or even that he or she was more in the right. The insurance companies do not fight such issues and prefer just to pay out, meaning it is left to the people paying their insurance costs. It is one of the reasons costs are increasing. There are also bogus claims, which should be tackled in a more efficient way. Many claims are being made and every Member has heard about them. Something must be done, as it is one of the reasons insurance costs are rising.

Insurance awards seem to be excessive. As Deputy Donnelly mentioned, it just does not seem right that all these claims are going through. People have whiplash and there is no real vetting of what is happening at all. People seem to be claiming and getting away with it but they could be back playing football or hurling, swimming or whatever again, with nothing wrong with their necks, a few days after getting the award.

There is also the issue of flooding and what this entails for people in their homes. If they make a claim because of flooding, their insurance costs go up, and if there is a second claim, they will not get insurance again. It is a very serious issue. It is happening and one of the reasons we have so much flooding is because our rivers are not being cleaned. There has been no attempt in the world to clear rivers in Kerry. I do not know what is happening in the rest of the country and every other fellow will have to speak for himself and represent his people. The rivers I know in Kerry are totally clogged, which is a reason places like Clonkeen, Foiladown, Glenflesk and Curreal are flooded continuously. Houses are ruined and people finish up with no insurance.

There is a new phenomenon with a crowd called the catchment flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM, doing a study around the south of Ireland. I know a number of people in one area, Glenflesk, who have been told their houses and property may be flooded some time in the next 50 years. The insurance companies know that now and they have the maps. Accordingly, these people are being charged excessively for insurance on their homes. That is not fair as the properties have never been flooded. Some genius has come up with the divine knowledge that the houses will be flooded some time in the next 50 years, but in the meantime people will have to pay an exorbitant cost for insurance. The houses may never be flooded.

These issues must be addressed as people in homes need insurance. It is not fair for any insurance company not to quote them. The reasons for not providing a quote or insurance are unfair, which is not on. I feel very strongly for these people. If it was said to somebody in a car crash that when the money was paid out, he or she could not get insurance any more, we would not accept it. People's homes are their castles and they are entitled to insurance for their families and properties. The rules of insurance companies must be sorted out. If we do nothing at all in here, we should highlight such matters. People are suffering and it is a big worry. Many of us would be very worried if we went to bed and thought there was no insurance to cover the house.

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