Results 1,621-1,640 of 34,778 for speaker:Seán Fleming

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: It had been done before my time.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: I have no idea.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: That is why the Central Bank is doing the report on dual pricing.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: I am happy to take up this issue in my role as Minister of State. The Deputy will appreciate I was not at this committee when he was making those points over the previous years. There is legislation due which will allow the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to implement administrative fines without having to go to court. That legislation is referred to in our action plan....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: On requiring insurance companies to treat their customers fairly and honestly, since I have come into the Department of Finance, the Minister for Finance has made public statements on several occasions to the insurance companies on this matter. In my meetings with them, I made it clear that they are required to treat their customers fairly and honestly. The Central Bank is the regulator....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: The Deputy knows full well that I may not have seen that document in his possession. It is clear that they have not at all times treated their customers fairly or honestly. I am quite happy to say that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: As I said, the staff of new office to promote competition in the insurance market only met yesterday for the first time. That was one of the key elements of the action plan we published, based on Cabinet approval earlier this month. We will tackle that issue when we get the exact information from the Central Bank. I hope the Deputy would see the importance of that, given that the Central...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: I accept what the Deputy said about the various methods the companies have of collecting information on consumers, but from my experience so far the most important information they collect relates to whether they can treat them as a soft touch when it comes to renewal of policies and whether the customer contacts the company directly to see about getting a better price. When a person gets a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: I look forward to seeing a copy of that when it is published. I do not know the details of the Deputy's proposal. Is he talking about banning dual pricing wherever it exists across all sectors or in one particular sector?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: I look forward to seeing that when it is published. The only caveat I would put on it at this stage, without having seen sight of it and without having seen the Central Bank's final report on the matter, which is coming next year, is that I would like to have evidence backing it up. The Central Bank will be producing the exact granular evidence, which will make any legislation on this issue...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: I have listened carefully to the Senator. I am here to give an update and to hear the committee's views. Members have made clear that we all have a common interest in this. The Senator is clear that if one notifies an insurance company of a potential claim, it marks it on the book as a potential claim and makes a provision for it, stating that it might cost €6,000 whenever it comes...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: We will follow up on those.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: There are two elements to that question. I am conscious of the areas to which the Senator is referring regarding particular sectors of the economy having had a major problem getting insurance and no insurance being available to them. That issue was satisfactorily resolved by a company, and brokers had to go abroad to get the insurance policy. The particular issue was dealt with. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: I did not say there were market failures or that no Irish business should set up an insurance company. I did not say either of those things but the Senator might have drawn that conclusion. I just pointed to the difficulties. That is not preventing insurance companies in Ireland getting it right into the future.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: Based on the information I have, there is a problem for particular customers depending on the level of the risk. Every application for an insurance policy is considered case by case. There may be particular circumstances where a risk is especially high, the cost of a premium is prohibitive, and people, in essence, may feel they cannot afford an insurance policy. Some people may not be able...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: No. Certainly not. There is competition but not enough active competition. That is why we set up the new office which held its first meeting yesterday. There is a level of insurance available in Ireland but there is not adequate competition by a long shot.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: The market is insufficiently serviced.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: I would but that would be a matter for the particular people involved to come together. I was at a meeting immediately before I came here with a group who are working with a small group of people who are trying to get insurance for a bouncy castle type of industry group. The insurance company that was providing the cover was a UK company and was governed by UK standards with respect to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Seán Fleming: That is a very good suggestion and we will certainly take it on board as part of our work on competition. To take the example of any county, if there are 40 towns and villages in the Tidy Towns competition and they all have to insure equipment, people who do work and different considerations like that, there would be tremendous value if they were to come together as a group because they...