Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Alliance for Insurance Reform has found that business insurance costs have increased by an average of 15% since the personal injuries guidelines were adopted in April. This is despite the fact that the guidelines resulted in significant reductions in claim costs. Motor insurance costs have dropped only fractionally but, across the board, insurance costs have not reflected the fact that the awards made by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, PIAB, have fallen by 40% since the new guidelines were introduced. It appears that the guidelines have ensured that the profits for insurance companies have increased rather than the stated objective of the cost of insurance premiums being reduced. In April, my colleague, Deputy Pearse Doherty, introduced legislation that would require insurance companies to report to the Central Bank if and how these savings were being passed on to their customers. It would have applied real pressure to the industry to pass on these savings to their customers. The Government put a stay of nine months on that legislation.

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