Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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423. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to introduce legislation controlling the loadings put by the insurance companies on car owners that seem to be quite arbitrary and have no relationship with the likelihood of an accident, including loadings put in cars that are over 15 years of age, despite the fact that these cars have to pass the national car test every year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32702/16]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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​The provision of insurance cover and the price at which it is offered is a commercial matter for insurance companies, and is based on an assessment of the risks they are willing to accept and adequate provisioning to meet those risks.  These are considered by insurance companies on a case by case basis, but rely on a combination of rating factors such as the age of the driver, the claims record, driving experience, the number of drivers, uses of the car, etc.  Different insurance companies apply ratings individually when pricing insurance.  As my colleague the Minister for Finance has pointed out, Member States are expressly prohibited by the EU framework for insurance from adopting rules which require insurance companies to obtain prior approval of the pricing or terms and conditions of insurance products.

The National Car Test was introduced to comply with an EU Roadworthiness Testing Directive, aimed at improving road safety, and a car which passes this test may be driven on our roads.  However, research by the Road Safety Authority indicates that in the event of a collision, the level of personal injury to an individual in an older car is higher than if that person was driving a new car.  Safety features on newer cars include electronic stability control, airbags, improved braking systems, roll-over protection etc., all of which are designed to reduce the impact of a collision on the occupants.  The higher level of personal injury payout to drivers and passengers of older cars may be one factor that leads some insurance companies to consider older cars a higher risk in terms of potential payouts when underwriting a policy.