Ray Butler (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to speak about the insurance industry. Rises in motor insurance have been highlighted a lot over the past couple of weeks. I would like to talk about my personal experience two years ago when a protestor jumped on my car and falsely accused me of hit-and-run and being drunk at the time. I reported it to the insurance company I was dealing with and lost my no-claims bonus for reporting it. When I rang other companies to get cheaper insurance, I was told that I could not go anywhere. I had to stay with the company and pay nearly three times the amount my premium should have been. It went on for 15 or 16 months. When my insurance came up for renewal, I rang the insurance company and was put through to the claims department. Thankfully, the person in question had made no claim because it was totally untrue and fabricated. It was in all the national newspapers. It was a terrible time for my family and me. What I found out by default from the claims department of this insurance company was that €21,000 was set aside for this lady if she did claim. She did not claim. This person could have claimed and I would have been told it had nothing to do with me anymore and the insurers would sort it out. If this is happening in the insurance industry, no wonder our insurance costs have gone up by 30% or 40%. It must be looked at and regulated. I have heard that this is happening in several insurance companies where they put this amount away once there is a claim or a reported claim. It is just not good enough. We need to debate the insurance industry, we need the Minister of State at the Department of Finance to come to the House and we need new legislation when it comes to the claims system.