John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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114. To ask the Minister for Finance the progress that has been made to establish a national claims database as recommended by the cost of insurance working group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12061/19]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, Recommendation 11 of the Cost of Insurance Working Group’s Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance recommended the establishment of a National Claims Information Database to increase transparency in the insurance sector.

The Central Bank (National Claims Information Database) Act 2018 provides the Central Bank with the necessary powers to establish and maintain the Database and this legislation was commenced on 28 January 2019 under the Central Bank (National Claims Information Database) Act 2018 (Commencement) Order 2019 (S.I. No. 2 of 2019).

As the underpinning legislation has been commenced, the Central Bank of Ireland is in the process of making appropriate regulations in respect of the National Claims Information Database, as provided for in the Act. The Act requires the Bank to consult with me as Minister in respect of those regulations and I am expecting the Governor to write to me shortly in that regard. Once this consultation has taken place, the Bank will publish the regulations.

Following on from the similar work completed in the process of producing the Motor Insurance Key Information Reports under Recommendation 12 of the Cost of Insurance Working Group’s Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance, the Central Bank will continue to collaborate with insurance undertakings to ensure efficient data collection. As outlined previously, the Central Bank expects to publish its first report under the Act during the second half of 2019.

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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115. To ask the Minister for Finance the steps he has taken to tackle the rising cost of insurance for small businesses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12062/19]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Both I and the Minister of State for Financial Services and Insurance, Mr. Michael D’Arcy T.D., are very conscious of the difficulties that increased insurance costs generally are having on many small businesses in this country.

Consequently, following the publication of its Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance in 2017, the Cost of Insurance Working Group undertook an examination of the employer liability and public liability insurance sectors. This second phase culminated in the publication in January 2018 of the Report on the Cost of Employer and Public Liability Insurance. The Report makes 15 recommendations with 29 associated actions, detailed in an Action Plan with agreed timelines for implementation.

The most recent Progress Update was published last week and shows that 24 out of the total of 26 action points which were due for completion during 2018 overall have been accomplished. I am confident that the two outstanding actions will be completed in the coming months, along with the three remaining action points with deadlines set for various quarters throughout 2019.

The actions implemented to date cut across a number of different areas and include:

- The publication of by An Garda Síochána of the Guidelines for the Reporting of Suspected Fraudulent Insurance Claims by Insurance Entities to An Garda Síochána

- The Law Reform Commission confirming that the subject of caps on damages for personal injuries litigation is included in its draft Fifth Programme of Law Reform

- Sections 8 & 14 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 have been amended to ensure defendants are appropriately notified of a claim having been submitted against their policy and to make it easier for businesses and insurers to challenge cases where fraud or exaggeration is suspected, respectively

- An Garda Síochána commencing the collection of statistics under the new “insurance fraud” category which has been added to the PULSE system

- The Courts Service confirming that it will publish a more detailed breakdown of awards in personal injury cases in its Annual Reports

Undoubtedly the single most essential challenge which must be overcome if there is to be a sustainable reduction in insurance costs is to bring the levels of personal injury damages awarded in this country more in line with those awarded in other jurisdictions. In this regard, the Personal Injuries Commission has highlighted the significant differential between award levels in this country and England & Wales for soft tissue injuries (4.4 times), and has made a number of recommendations to address this issue, in particular the establishment of a Judicial Council to compile guidelines for appropriate general damages for various types of personal injury. Minister of State D’Arcy believes that this awards gap needs to be significantly closed (a view which I share) and he and the Minister for Justice and Equality Mr Charlie Flanagan TD are working closely together to ensure that this happens at the earliest opportunity.

Finally, I would like to assure the Deputy that the Cost of Insurance Working Group will continue to focus on implementing the recommendations of the Report on the Cost of Employer and Public Liability Insurance in parallel with implementing those from the Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance. I am hopeful that the cumulative effects of the completion of the two Reports’ recommendations will include increased stability in the pricing of insurance for businesses and a more competitive insurance market.