James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Fianna Fáil's motion on insurance costs and affordability. There are two facets to this - competitiveness in the market and the issue of affordability and cost for the consumer. The price of motor insurance has increased by approximately 60% since 2014. During Fianna Fáil's last Private Members' business we championed mortgage rates. Today we turn our attention to motor insurance, again in an attempt to cut costs for consumers and individuals caught up with this issue.

Car insurance is compulsory, unlike health insurance, house insurance and other insurance products. One does not have a choice. If one drives a car, one must take out insurance. The figures we have mentioned place stress and strain on many people. In essence, it puts them off the road. I will first discuss the cost for younger drivers, who are known as millennials. These are the younger generation, people in their twenties, who are being squeezed on multiple fronts. They are prone to insecurity. They find it difficult to save for rent for housing or deposits for rents. They cannot aspire to home ownership. Beginning to plan for a family is so far down the line it is not even on their radar. Work is insecure. To add insult to injury, what was once the freedom that young adulthood brought to being on the road is now taken away as well, because the costs are prohibitive for young adults trying to enter the insurance market.

I have encountered a number of situations in my clinics which are pertinent to this debate. One is the situation of emigrants returning from abroad. Thanks to the putative economic recovery we are beginning to see some people returning home. Many people spent the recession abroad, including in the EU. One individual approached me recently who, on his return from spending six years in Spain, found that he was unable to get insurance cover in Ireland. He has a clean driving history and a full no-claims bonus, but it is non-transferable even within EU states. That adds to the cost of insurance. He is currently unable to get insurance and is taking it up with the declined cases committee. Surely within the EU we could align our no-claims bonus provisions and driving history to the extent that we should be able to address such cases. I ask the Minister to examine that issue. Hopefully, it will be presenting more frequently as many more people return home after working abroad.

At the other end of the scale, there is the issue of cars over 15 years old. People are on the road with older cars which have NCT certificates and are therefore certified for roadworthiness. However, when they seek insurance at least two companies, Aviva and Allianz Ireland, have refused cover. There are 250,000 such vehicles and they account for 13% of the entire fleet. This issue tends to affect older people and people whose means are limited. Again, it is pricing people off the road and putting an anti-competitive layer into the market.

Another difficulty is where an individual has had a claim or disputed claim. The principle of innocent until proven guilty does not appear to apply here. Unlike in every other walk of life, if a claim is hovering the premium is hiked until that is resolved. I was dealing with an individual recently who has been waiting five years for the outcome of such a claim. He maintains his innocence but he is being priced out of the market while this continues.

The solutions appear to be relatively simple - put the advisory board in place, establish the task force and examine the uninsured vehicles.

The industry suggests that it is not sure that uninsured drivers are a key contributor to the cost. If that is so, why can we not compare the insurance databases with the vehicle registration database? It would appear to be a quick win. The book of quantum needs to be revised. The penalty points database needs to be correlated with the insurers' databases in an attempt to address the matter.

In respect of fraud and end-of-life vehicles, vehicles which have been certified as end of life in other jurisdictions are entered into the Irish market and put on the road under false pretences. They are, therefore, a risk to other drivers, which is not doing the insurance market or road safety any good at all. I will return to this issue on another occasion.

This is a very positive step. We need this task force and we need to investigate the different scenarios that arise and address this crippling cost for families and individuals in respect of such a basic requirement.

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