Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 138: To ask the Minister for Finance the legislation, if any, under which life assurance companies operate here and to list the regulations, Ombudsmen or appeal bodies provided by the State and the industry; the bodies from which persons (details supplied) can seek adjudication on the practices being imposed on them when premiums are being increased after 20 years and persons are being penalised for living longer. [34261/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Life assurance companies are governed by the Insurance Acts 1909 to 2000 and regulations relating to insurance made under section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972. This body of legislation deals with a range of issues including authorisation provisions, prudential supervision and governance matters. The day to day responsibility for ensuring that the insurance industry complies with this legislation is a matter for the Financial Regulator which is statutorily independent in the exercise of its regulatory functions.

Consumer issues are covered by the Financial Regulator's Consumer Protection Code which amongst other things sets out a series of general principles about how financial service firms (including all insurance companies) should interact with their customers. The Code however does not prohibit or restrict an insurance company which conducts life insurance business from increasing its annual premium rates, as this is a commercial decision for the company in question. In this regard the Financial Regulator has advised me previously in relation to similar type of enquiries that premiums for what are known as "Whole of Life " policies are not fixed and can increase over the duration of the policy.

The persons in question have the option of referring this matter to the Financial Services Ombudsman at www.financialombudsman.ie for investigation and adjudication.