Insurance firms have unveiled a new weapon in their fight against fraudulent claims.

THE 290% hike in insurance premiums over the last four years has cost 3,000 Irish workers their jobs and closed 100 companies, ISME claimed yesterday.

The Insurance industry should be audited by a Monitoring Committee according to business lobby group ISME.

THERE has been almost a 20% reduction in the number of road deaths since penalty points were introduced last November, Transport Minister Séamus Brennan said yesterday.

TRANSPORT Minister Seamus Brennan will offer a major insurance firm the State’s penalty points database to clinch a groundbreaking deal which could result in premiums being slashed by up to 15% for safe drivers.

INSURANCE costs have jumped by 52% this year and by an average of 290% since 2000, a survey of Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) members has found.

MOTORISTS can look forward to cheaper insurance premiums, thanks to the introduction of penalty points and planned government reforms.

The National Youth Council has urged the Government not to give insurance companies access to motorists' penalty points records until the industry stops penalising young motorists because of their age.

THE new penalty points system will bring down the unacceptable level of death and serious injury on Irish roads, according to Transport Minister, Séamus Brennan.

The Tanaiste, Mary Harney, is announcing a number of key measures today aimed at reforming the insurance industry in Ireland in an attempt to substantially reduce the cost of insurance claims and premiums.

CYNICISM rather than sympathy is likely to be the general reaction to warnings from the insurance industry that premiums are set to rise again.

SUPPORTERS of a new compensation board have reacted angrily to a report commissioned by lawyers that concluded there was a risk insurance costs and premiums would rise rather than fall if it was set up.

The Insurance Industry Federation has warned that premiums will rise if the Court and Court Officers Bill is passed into law.

The insurance industry has defended increases in motor premiums of up to 25%.