Insurance rescue fund must be used, says TD
And in a bid to highlight problems associated with rocketing insurance premiums the managing director of ECM Systems, in Ballina, Alex Corcoran closed his business for a day yesterday.
Fine Gael spokesperson on social and family affairs Michael Ring, TD, said the 23m euro PMPA surplus should be used to either subsidise small firms to cover insurance premiums, or preferably be used as seed capital to establish a state-owned insurance firm to provide much need competition in the Irish insurance market.
The high cost of public and employer liability is now a national crisis and the problem cannot be left to the market place.
Insurance costs are costing jobs and the issue has not been adequately
addressed by this or the last government.
Many small employers and business firms around the country are now in a crisis situation. “Competition is needed fast if the cosy cartel, which now operates is to be broken,” he said.
Mr Ring said in his home town of Westport he knows the owner of a small firm who has to let his staff go this weekend because of a 400% increase in public liability insurance costs.
“Worst of all the firm has had no claims against it,” he said.
Mr Ring said immediate action on the spiralling costs of insurance needs to be taken by the Government.
“Legislation will have to be enacted to jail people who make bogus claims.” The medical and legal people who support such claims should be barred from practising and judges who make exorbitant awards should be removed from the bench.
“The Government should take immediate steps to set up a national bureau of insurance to deal with the firms at present in crisis over the premiums being quoted.
“Whatever it takes, we need immediate action. What is happening now is tantamount to national sabotage by the insurance companies”, Michael Ring fumed.
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