Standard & Poor’s sees car insurance hikes on road to profits

Irish insurance companies will need to hike the costs of car insurance even more if they are return to profitability any time soon, a senior analyst at rating agency Standard & Poor’s said yesterday.

Standard & Poor’s insurance analyst Tufan Basarir also said that though the ratings agency had as yet no “definitive view” on the matter, a scheme allowing people in areas not prone to flooding to compensate people in flood areas may be beneficial here.

Mr Basarir said his report on the Irish Property and Casualty Insurance Sector showed that car insurers here needed to be more “proactive” and to raise premiums, even if they were to lose market share, if the industry is to return to acceptable levels of profitability.