Results 10,381-10,400 of 10,460 for speaker:Gerry Horkan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Sep 2016)

Gerry Horkan: These are things that we heard this morning. I had not been familiar with that concept until this morning and I am sure many others were not. Perhaps it only ever happened once. Certainly, it was asserted that it was-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Sep 2016)

Gerry Horkan: The assertion was made this morning and the committee needs to tease it out.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Sep 2016)

Gerry Horkan: I thank the witnesses for their contributions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (8 Sep 2016)

Gerry Horkan: I am conscious that we are under time pressure. Must we conclude this session by 1 p.m.?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (8 Sep 2016)

Gerry Horkan: Many issues have been addressed and I would like to discuss a number of them. Every one present is in agreement that there is a problem that needs to be tackled by the joint committee, the insurance industry, the working group and the Minister. After six days of deliberations, we will all know what are the problems. While many of them have been evident for some time, no one has tackled...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (8 Sep 2016)

Gerry Horkan: These companies become more vulnerable because the new entrant, which may have a similar cost base and overheads, is trying to win some of their business. If Ryanair went bust, Aer Lingus would not be expected to pay the cost and vice versa.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (8 Sep 2016)

Gerry Horkan: That is exactly the point I am making. A commercial entity will enter a market that has not significantly expanded. Car sales may have increased but new cars by and large replace older cars. They are generally not all bought by new drivers. Although some people turning 18 years of age will join the market, people at the other end will also leave the market. We have a long history of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (8 Sep 2016)

Gerry Horkan: Mr. Moran and Mr. Griffin come to this issue from a particular angle. Insurance companies state clearly that increases in premiums are justified because insurance awards are higher. While the number of claims may not have increased, they have become more expensive. We have transparency in cases that go through the system but we do not know whether legal costs account for 90% or 40% of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (8 Sep 2016)

Gerry Horkan: Does that mean 8% of people with an insurance policy will make a claim in any given year?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (8 Sep 2016)

Gerry Horkan: That is what I think.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (8 Sep 2016)

Gerry Horkan: Does Mr. Griffin have any idea - obviously, it must be anecdotal - what percentage of drivers he might represent are uninsured? The idea that there are lots of people deciding they cannot afford it and taking a chance is frightening. They are not just taking a chance one-off basis, they are doing it all the time. Every time they get behind the wheel, they are taking that chance.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (8 Sep 2016)

Gerry Horkan: Is it a significant number of people?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (8 Sep 2016)

Gerry Horkan: If it is 0.5% and it goes up 36%, it is not a large number of people, relatively speaking. One is bad, but do we know where it is coming from and where it is going to in terms of a percentage of the total?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (8 Sep 2016)

Gerry Horkan: Okay.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (8 Sep 2016)

Gerry Horkan: There is anecdotal evidence that the insurance policy increases are there to shore up bad investments made by insurance companies. They took their premium money, they invested it badly or unwisely, it lost value and we are now being asked to stump up for it. Is there any data to suggest whether that is the case?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (8 Sep 2016)

Gerry Horkan: The profits that were being made there were probably slowing the rate of increase or funding the decreases.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (8 Sep 2016)

Gerry Horkan: That would effectively undermine the suggestion that we are all paying more because insurance companies gambled with premiums and lost.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (8 Sep 2016)

Gerry Horkan: That is not what I am saying. I am referring to what is being said out there, namely, that these companies were going around investing money willy-nilly and it did not perform the way it used to perform. However, Mr. Carey is saying that, by and large, that the money insurance companies take off consumers is invested in very low-risk stuff in the first instance and the very low-risk stuff...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (8 Sep 2016)

Gerry Horkan: Just to clarify, is Mr. Jewell talking about a group scheme? There are various public sector organisations, as well as associations involving, for example, chartered accountants and so forth. There are various groups out there. Is that the kind of scheme to which he refers?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (8 Sep 2016)

Gerry Horkan: We are using a slightly different format for this part of the meeting. This morning we were allowing witnesses to respond to each individual committee member in turn rather than to a number of members. If the witnesses would like to respond to Senator Conway-Walsh now, they may do so.