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

As the Deputy is aware, the Cost of Insurance Working Group was established in July 2016. The initial focus of the Working Group was the issue of rising motor insurance premiums and the Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance was published in January 2017, containing 33 recommendations with 71 associated actions.

In its second phase, the Working Group examined the cost of business insurance, in particular employer liability insurance and public liability insurance. This work culminated in the publication in January 2018 of the Report on the Cost of Employer and Public Liability Insurance, with 15 recommendations and 29 associated actions to be carried out.

In terms of progress with regard to the implementation of both Reports, the Working Group has published five quarterly update reports, most recently on 11th May last. This quarterly update shows that of the 50 separate relevant deadlines within the Action Plan of the Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance up to the end of Q1 2018, one relates to an action no longer being proceeded with; of the remaining 49 deadlines, 40 have been met. Substantial work has also been undertaken in respect of the nine action points categorised as “ongoing”. In relation to the eight actions from the Report on Employer and Public Liability Insurance due for completion in Q1 2018, all eight were completed on time.

It is envisaged that the next quarterly Progress Update will be completed by the end of July and will be ready for publication on the Department of Finance website shortly after. This update will provide details on the implementation of all of the recommendations from both primary Reports. However, a particular focus will be placed upon the 14 actions across the two Reports – seven from each – with Q2 2018 deadlines.

While the overarching objective of these Reports and their recommendations is to deliver fairer premiums for consumers and businesses, one of the means of achieving this is to attempt to set the broader conditions for an insurance market which is competitive and attractive to new entrants in both the motor and business insurance markets.

In this regard, I believe the enactment of the soon to be published Central Bank (National Claims Information Database) Bill, following its approval by the Cabinet on 5th July 2018, will be a major help from a transparency perspective. This should help in developing an understanding of how claims costs are impacting premiums, in particular understanding the relationship between the price paid by a customer for motor insurance and the cost to insurance undertakings. The database will be established in 2019, subject to the Oireachtas agreeing the legislation.

In summary, therefore, I am confident that the full implementation of all the recommendations from the Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance – in parallel with those from the Report on the Cost of Public and Public Liability Insurance – can lead to desired outcomes such as improving transparency in relation to the cost of claims, improving the personal injuries claims environment, reducing the levels of costs within the claims process and lessening the problem of insurance fraud, which taken cumulatively should assist in making the Irish motor insurance market more appealing to new entrants.