Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

56. To ask the Minister for Finance the mechanisms in place for companies and other public and private organisations that cannot obtain employer and-or public liability insurance similar to the declined insurance agreement in the motor insurance industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2483/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

At the outset, the Deputy should note that unlike third party motor insurance, employer and public liability insurance is not a compulsory requirement in Ireland. Consequently, there is no equivalent arrangement to the Declined Cases Agreement which operates for third party motor cover.  

Having said that, the Government is aware of the difficulties that the rising cost of liability insurance in recent years has had on many businesses and that is why the Cost of Insurance Working Group was asked to examine the employer liability and public liability insurance sectors as part of its second phase of work.  I recently received its report from the Chair, Minister of State D'Arcy, on this matter and subject to Government approval, I am proposing to publish the Report on the Cost of Employer and Public Liability Insurance in the coming weeks.

As part of its work the Cost of Insurance Working Group engaged in a consultative process and a significant issue raised by stakeholders during consultations was the lack of competition in the liability insurance market overall and the particular problems faced by specific business activities in obtaining adequate cover at a reasonable price.

The Working Group recognised that, in practical terms, businesses by and large would be unable to continue functioning on a day-to-day basis without the “safety net” afforded by having such cover in place.  Moreover, a number of more-regulated sectors which require the issuing of some form of licence in order to legally operate make the purchase of such insurance, in effect, obligatory.  Consequently, the focus of the Working Group was primarily on what can be done to address the issue of increasing insurance costs in addition to making Ireland a more attractive place for new insurance providers to enter.

I am hopeful that the implementation of the recommendations in this Report, building upon the work undertaken in the motor insurance phase, will cumulatively not only lead to greater stability in the pricing of employer liability and public liability insurance, but also help to increase the capacity of the provision of such types of insurance to all forms of relevant organisations.  

However, for those who have queries, complaints or difficulties in relation to obtaining insurance, Insurance Ireland operates a free Insurance Information Service which can be contacted by email at: feedback@insuranceireland.eu or by phone 01-6761914.