Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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89. To ask the Minister for Finance the measures he will take to reduce the cost of car insurance; his views on the profit levels of companies providing car insurance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1750/17]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Report of the Cost of Insurance Working Group chaired by Minister Eoghan Murphy was approved by Government on 10 January 2017.

The Report contains 33 recommendations and 71 actions in an Action Plan, and covers six main themes:

- Protecting the consumer

- Improving data availability

- Improving the personal injuries claims environment

- Reducing the costs in the claims process

- Reducing insurance fraud and uninsured driving

- Promoting road safety and reducing collisions

A number of actions are already underway and I am confident that the report's 71 actions will be implemented by the end of 2018, with 45 due to be completed this year.

The recommendations include actions to:

- address the lack of transparency in the claims environment, through the establishment of a national claims information database which will be located in the Central Bank;

- provide enhanced guidance in how to determine compensation for personal injuries claims, through the establishment of a Personal Injuries Commission;

- address the increasing level of uninsured driving, through the establishment of a fully functioning database which will allow the Gardaí to check insurance compliance through the use of technology such as Automatic Number Plate Recognition; and

- address the issue of suspected fraud, through the establishment of a database that will be funded by industry but held by an independent body and that will take into account data protection concerns.

While there is no silver bullet to reduce the cost of insurance, cooperation and commitment between all parties can deliver fairer premiums for consumers without unnecessary delay.

In relation to the profit levels of companies providing car insurance, the Deputy may wish to note that the profitability of the sector is discussed in Chapter 3 of the Report.  The Report highlights that the industry made substantial profits between 2005 and 2008 (€2.2bn of which €1bn approx. related to motor insurance). However during the period from 2009 to 2015 there were underwriting losses of €1.3bn, with motor insurance accounting for €900m of this.  It should also be noted that the low interest rate environment has materially affected the levels of interest or investment income which insurers can earn and has reduced their ability to compensate in part for their underwriting losses.