Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Fianna Fáil has identified 23 insurance companies regulated in other European jurisdictions but allowed to sell motor insurance to Irish customers. These companies are similar to Setanta Insurance and Enterprise Insurance which collapsed last year, affecting 14,000 motor insurance customers with over €6 million in claims outstanding. The liquidator for Setanta Insurance has said that the number of open claims was 1,678 as of 31 May 2016. I understand that the claims reserve position stands at €95.2 million. More than 70% of claims will not be covered by the liquidation. Following the collapse of Setanta Insurance approximately 75,000 motorists here were left without cover. This motion calls on the Government to provide the necessary funding to the Insurance Compensation Fund to resolve the Setanta case pending the decision of the Supreme Court. It further calls on the Government to consider taking legal action against the Maltese and Gibraltar authorities for the losses arising from inadequate regulation of Setanta Insurance and Enterprise Insurance, respectively, and to finalise the motor insurance compensation framework so claimants are protected in the event of the future collapse of motor insurance firms selling insurance in Ireland. Consumers may assume they are buying insurance from Irish companies but in reality they may be buying foreign insurance products sold through Irish brokers. Consumers do not have the expertise to analyse whether a firm is likely to get into difficulty. Even those charged with that responsibility find it difficult to determine that.

Following the collapse of Setanta Insurance, it was impossible for consumers to correspond with the liquidator or to attend meetings as they were all held in Malta. The failure of foreign regulated motor insurance companies is directly increasing the cost of insurance for motorists in Ireland. Consumers have effectively been told to accept these extortionate increases without any explanation. Premiums have increased by more than 50%, on average, in the last two years, with many drivers quoted increases of up to 100% to renew their cover. The outstanding claims caught up in Setanta Insurance and Enterprise Insurance need to be resolved. Consumers should be made aware of the different regulatory firms selling business into Ireland.

I know of a young man who had to go to England to work, prior to which he had a 16 year no claims bonus in Ireland. He worked in England for four years, during which time he had motor insurance and no claims. When he returned to this country and sought insurance cover he was told his no claims bonus was invalid because he had broken his insurance record. That is disgraceful. No insurance company should be allowed to do that. Confused.comcarried out a survey in Northern Ireland which showed that insurance premiums for young male drivers aged between 17 and 20 living in Northern Ireland have decreased by 24%, which is equivalent to a decrease of over £700. Female drivers of the same age within that region reported a 12% decrease in motor insurance premiums, which is equivalent to a decrease of £260. I do not understand how insurance companies in this country are getting away with what they are doing. This is wrong and it should not be allowed to continue. People are being put out of business because they cannot get public indemnity insurance and people who need a car to get to work, particularly people in rural people, are unable to afford the cost of car insurance and thus they cannot get to work. As I said, this cannot be allowed to continue.

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