Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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267. To ask the Minister for Finance his plans to address the unfair loading of motor insurance premiums on the elderly with some quotes increasing over 50% from the previous year. [47047/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As Minister for Finance, I am responsible for the development of the legal framework governing financial regulation.  Neither I nor the Central Bank of Ireland can interfere in the provision or pricing of insurance products, as these matters are of a commercial nature, and are determined by insurance companies based on an assessment of the risks they are willing to accept.  This position is reinforced by the EU framework for insurance which expressly prohibits Member States from adopting rules which require insurance companies to obtain prior approval of the pricing or terms and conditions of insurance products.  Consequently, I am not in a position to review individual cases as to the pricing level or terms or conditions that they should apply in those cases. 

Nevertheless, my officials contacted Insurance Ireland in relation to the specific issues outlined in your question.  In particular, the instances of quotes increasing by over 50% in some cases was highlighted, given the context of an overall year-on-year reduction in average motor insurance costs for each of the last six months (i.e., from April to September), according to the latest available CSO statistics.

Insurance Ireland responded as follows:

“The premium charged by an insurer is due to a large number of underwriting criteria which determine the nature of the risk and the resultant premium. One of these rating factors would be the age of the person; however, this is only one factor.  It would be recommended that the consumer should request a breakdown of the premium for clarification in the calculation of the premium”.

Some of the other rating factors used by insurers include the type and age of the vehicle, the driving experience, claims record and penalty points of the driver, the number of drivers, how the vehicle is used, and the location where it is normally stored, etc.  My understanding is that insurers do not all use the same combination of rating factors – in addition to which they also price in accordance with their own past claims experience – and as a result prices and availability of cover vary across the market.  

In this regard, the Deputy should note that the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission website has an informative section regarding the purchase of car insurance – see . One of the tips listed to help cut costs is to "shop around" and to "always get quotes from several insurance providers when you need to get or renew insurance".  A checklist for motor insurance shopping around is also provided.

Finally, in relation to the ongoing work regarding the cost of motor insurance generally my officials will continue to discuss these matters with Insurance Ireland.