Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The entire country is in desperation over the impact of the current national insurance crisis. Our failed insurance market poses a lethal threat to small businesses and consumers. Futures are in jeopardy and jobs are lost. The common denominator is excessive and suffocating premiums. Unjustifiable premiums are causing financial hardship, leading to enormous levels of stress and anxiety. Overzealous and at times impractical health and safety regulations, with associated insurance demands, are quenching community spirit throughout the country. Volunteers are frustrated and disillusioned to witness their free time, their skills and their commitment blown away with insurmountable insurance premiums.

It is no secret that our insurance industry, as structured at present, is crippling many sectors of our society. Similar to the housing crisis, we have an absence of insurance supply, an excess of demand, too little competition and a collapse of affordability. The consumer is a prisoner in a system that is dysfunctional. The consumer is subjected to a legal form of exploitation and extortion. The insurance sector has become expert at manipulating and taking advantage of consumers trapped in a captive market. The consumer is at the mercy of greedy, profiteering multinational insurance consortiums. The public, in a word, is being ransacked by the current insurance regime. In retaliation for excessive costs, everyone, including politicians, have for years been pointing the finger at the insurance companies, solicitors, the legal profession and the Judiciary. Solicitors and barristers are prone to lodging inflated claims in the expectation that, after legal argument, they will succeed in obtaining exaggerated awards.

For the most part, people who make claims have a legitimate case and, when proven, they are entitled to reasonable and adequate compensation. However, in Ireland, we have cultivated a litigation culture that too often appears to reward the chancers and fraudsters. The glaring weakness in claims procedure is placing a huge financial burden on the insurance companies and, ultimately, consumers. The industry has numerous agencies and oversight bodies, which are lamentably ineffective. The Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy, has made commendable efforts, with initiatives intended to reduce costs and bring fairness and transparency to the sector, but the harsh fact is that he has been obstructed and stifled by vested interests. Given the broad range of practices, the professionals who work the system have a huge financial interest in protecting the status quo. The current system creates a level of coexistence and self-interest that is difficult to penetrate and break down. Sweeping reforms are urgently required. The current situation is unsustainable and there is a need for urgent action to assist the beleaguered consumer.

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