Results 9,461-9,480 of 35,567 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Developments in the Insurance Industry: Discussion (19 May 2021)

Pearse Doherty: I do not want to go over old ground but I always like to look at the facts. The national claims database held by the Central Bank provides us with a rich amount of facts. The facts are that over the past decade the cost of claims has reduced by 9%, the number of claims has reduced by 45% and premiums have increased by 35%. One of the most significant things that has happened in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Developments in the Insurance Industry: Discussion (19 May 2021)

Pearse Doherty: The savings came into effect three weeks ago. When are the companies likely to pass them on? They are not doing so yet.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Developments in the Insurance Industry: Discussion (19 May 2021)

Pearse Doherty: My next question is for FBD. When are we likely to see the savings passed on to its customers? Why have they not been passed on up until now? Will the company commit to passing on euro for euro savings as a result of the reduction in awards to its customers?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Developments in the Insurance Industry: Discussion (19 May 2021)

Pearse Doherty: The company has already applied it. I will give another example from the survey of an FBD customer, again comparing like with like. The same car has not had a previous claim and last year's premium was €550 and this year's premium is €635. In another case, last year's premium was €1,300 and this year's renewal quote is €1,450. How are premiums increasing if the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Developments in the Insurance Industry: Discussion (19 May 2021)

Pearse Doherty: My next question is for Mr. Brennan and Mr. O'Rourke. Their companies, Zurich and Aviva, are in the top seven insurance companies in Ireland. They are also in the top seven in the UK. Will the witnesses explain to the committee what are the responsibilities and requirements on their companies since the British Government reduced the cost of whiplash awards? What do they mean? How do the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Developments in the Insurance Industry: Discussion (19 May 2021)

Pearse Doherty: Let me be clear. In Britain, Mr. Brennan's company, along with all of the other six largest companies in Ireland, has to satisfy the FCA as to what the cost of claims would have been before the awards were slashed, what the cost of claims are after the awards were slashed, what the premiums would have been if the awards had not been slashed and what they are now. This is the way the British...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Developments in the Insurance Industry: Discussion (19 May 2021)

Pearse Doherty: Mr. Brennan says that is not worked out in Britain but it is. It is part of the 2018 legislation, which has taken effect. Let me make it clear. Does that include that the companies would provide the expected cost of claims prior to the reduction in awards, the cost of claims now, subsequent to the awards being reduced, the premiums if the awards were not reduced and the premiums now, as a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Developments in the Insurance Industry: Discussion (19 May 2021)

Pearse Doherty: It is doing it in Britain. It is a legal obligation on the company that it has not resisted in Britain.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Developments in the Insurance Industry: Discussion (19 May 2021)

Pearse Doherty: Mr. O’Rourke's company also has the same obligations. These are the regulations and they are quite detailed. If his company is not aware of what they are in Britain, I can send them on to him. It is all worked out.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Developments in the Insurance Industry: Discussion (19 May 2021)

Pearse Doherty: I am not expecting that. However, when Mr. Brennan said they are not worked out, my point is that the regulations are here, they are worked out and they are quite detailed. What I am asking is whether the companies would be satisfied to provide the same information to the Central Bank here? I have no faith that the insurance companies are going to pass this on, euro for euro. That is my...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Developments in the Insurance Industry: Discussion (19 May 2021)

Pearse Doherty: How are Aviva and Zurich preparing for the FCA pricing remedy on dual pricing to be announced at the end of May? How they are going to respond in regard to pricing? What is their response to the FCA predicting that premiums will reduce, so insurers will not lose market share? What are their views in regard to the legislation that has passed the Dáil and will come before this committee...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Developments in the Insurance Industry: Discussion (19 May 2021)

Pearse Doherty: My final question is to FBD. It was very interesting to hear Mr. O'Midheach talk about FBD welcoming the legal challenge and so on. While it might have welcomed it, it fought it tooth and nail, and that is the reality. The Central Bank made it very clear that the Government's announcement for pubs to close was to be deemed not a voluntary closure but an enforced closure. What did FBD do?...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Developments in the Insurance Industry: Discussion (19 May 2021)

Pearse Doherty: Did FBD challenge the point that it was a voluntary closure?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Developments in the Insurance Industry: Discussion (19 May 2021)

Pearse Doherty: FBD said it was a voluntary closure. It said it was not a forced closure by the State. Let me get on to the substantial point. The test cases have happened and FBD has lost the cases. It argued in court and it lost the cases and we have to find out the quantum. I engaged with the Central Bank because there was huge anxiety in regard to test cases in terms of the costs and what would...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Developments in the Insurance Industry: Discussion (19 May 2021)

Pearse Doherty: What does Mr. O'Midheach suggest would be unreasonable? Has he seen any of this at all? Why does the Central Bank need to engage with FBD for a second time on the matter if he thinks there is no issue and that everything will be okay when we see the costs?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Developments in the Insurance Industry: Discussion (19 May 2021)

Pearse Doherty: I will leave it at that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Developments in the Insurance Industry: Discussion (19 May 2021)

Pearse Doherty: Can I ask one final question?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Developments in the Insurance Industry: Discussion (19 May 2021)

Pearse Doherty: That is fine.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Developments in the Insurance Industry: Discussion (19 May 2021)

Pearse Doherty: Does Mr. Brennan agree with a statement made by one of his colleagues at the committee previously? He stated that his company prices insurance for the following 12 months and that it sets premiums on the basis of what it expects to happen in terms of the number of claims over that period. Is that the way that insurance is priced?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Developments in the Insurance Industry: Discussion (19 May 2021)

Pearse Doherty: What has happened in the past three weeks?