Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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350. To ask the Minister for Finance the steps being taken to ensure that insurance companies use accurate flood risk data during risk assessments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16798/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As Minister for Finance, I have policy responsibility for the development of the legal framework governing financial services regulation, including for the insurance sector.

In terms of zoning and mapping for the purposes of assessing the level of risk that an insurer is willing to underwrite in relation to individual properties, please be aware that insurers use their own modelling tools for assessing such risks in the context of home insurance. The provision of home insurance is a commercial matter for insurance companies, based on an actuarial assessment of the risks they are willing to accept. Government cannot interfere in the provision or pricing of insurance, or direct as to what cover is provided, as is reinforced by the EU framework for insurance (Solvency II Directive).

Insurance Ireland, the industry representative for the insurance industry in Ireland, has informed the Department that its members use a variety of different flood data models (both internally developed models and flood models procured from third party vendors), when assessing food risk. Insurers will generally utilise (i) flood risk maps licenced from a third-party consultancy; (ii) bespoke flood maps based on their individual historical claim’s experience/risk surveys undertaken of locations, and (iii) other information such as the flood defence benefit area data provided to Insurance Ireland by the OPW under the terms of the MOU, if applicable.

Insurers use flood maps as a tool to help them decide the extent to which they will provide flood cover for a property risk. These usually take account of: (i) river and coastal (or tidal) flooding; (ii) the likelihood (or probability) of a flood loss; (iii) the potential severity of that loss; and (iv) the presence of any fixed flood defences. A matrix is used to score properties on the likelihood or occurrence of river, coastal and surface water flood events based on a review of these categories.

As noted above, an insurer will also consider flood protection measures implemented by the Office of Public Works (OPW) or local authorities when making its underwriting decisions. As the relevant authority on flood risk management in the State, the OPW has established a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Insurance Ireland. Under this arrangement, the OPW provide information on all completed flood defence schemes to Insurance Ireland. In turn, insurers take account of this information when assessing exposure to flood risk within these areas. Officials from the Departments of Finance; Housing and Local Government, along with other stakeholders engage constructively with this process on how the levels of insurance cover might be improved in areas where flood defence works have been completed.

The Government remains committed to protecting Ireland’s present and future generations by investing in climate adaptation measures to manage the impacts of extreme weather, with policy in relation to increasing flood insurance coverage focused on the development of a sustainable, planned and risk-based approach to managing flooding problems. Accordingly, €1.3 billion has been committed to the delivery of flood relief schemes over the lifetime of the National Development Plan (NDP) to 2030. This will protect approximately 23,000 properties across various communities from river and coastal flood risk.

The Department of Finance will continue to monitor and assess flood insurance matters, including through its participation in the OPW and Insurance Ireland Working Group.

Finally, Minister of State Troy recently met with the CEOs of the major insurers where he strongly emphasised to industry the need to take a reasonable approach to the provision of cover where properties are proven to be in low risk areas, including where there has been investment in flood defences. These matters remain a priority for this Government and efforts continue to be made to encourage a responsive approach from the insurance industry.