Amid mounting premiums, the number of people forced to resort to seeking car insurance through a “declined cases agreement” has more than trebled in the course of three years, according to figures from the Department of Finance.

Urgent action is needed to tackle spiralling car insurance costs, as the cost of insuring a car has already increased by one-third in the last year.

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

Soaring motor insurance premiums hitting drivers have prompted calls for a new taskforce to examine the profits being made in the industry to help rein in costs for consumers.

The Consumers’ Association of Ireland (CAI) has called on the Government to conduct an independent review of the insurance industry amid growing concerns that motor insurers are penalising pensioners and younger drivers who tend to drive older cars.

Hard-pressed consumers already struggling with a myriad of bills are to be hit with hikes of up to 12% in the cost of their insurance as premiums continue to spiral even higher.

The biggest one-year hike in motor insurance prices in more than a decade is wiping out any savings hard-pressed motorists are making at the petrol pump.

THE three-member group appointed by Health Minister Mary Harney last January to carry out a business appraisal of the private medical insurance market in Ireland, otherwise known as the Barrington Report, are:

MOTOR insurance costs could fall by a further 50%, an insurance expert said yesterday.

I REGRET the resignation of Eddie Shaw as chairman of the National Safety Council.

SOLICITORS could be forced to hand back money to thousands of clients who may have been overcharged following personal injury and other cases in the last 10 years.

THE cost of motor insurance, which has fallen by 35% in real terms over the past three years, is under threat, a top insurer has warned.

INSURER FBD plans more insurance premium price cuts after reporting a 27.7% increase in pre-tax profits to €135 million.

The Motor Insurance Advisory Board has published its final report.

THE Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB), set up in April to lower the cost of insurance claims, is currently dealing with 600 cases.

CRASH victims have paid out €13m on hospital care over five years for a service which should be free, the chair of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) said yesterday.

THE Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (IFSRA) has set out its stall for the next three years placing a strong emphasis on a fair deal for the consumer and strict ethical behaviour by the financial institutions.

TÁNAISTE Mary Harney insisted yesterday reforms are paving the way for companies to enter the insurance market in Ireland.

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.

INSURANCE premiums must drop by a third within two years to ensure value for money, a high powered Dáil body has concluded.

Improved road safety was partly responsible for the insurance industry’s first profit from motor cover since 1998, companies said tonight.

FINANCE MINISTER Charlie McCreevy yesterday warned the insurance industry to cut the cost of car cover and give motorists a fairer deal.

IRELAND’S young graduates are highly regarded as among the brightest, most enthusiastic and best educated in Europe, the director of a key export programme said yesterday.

TÁNAISTE Mary Harney called on insurance companies yesterday not to settle claims they suspect may be fraudulent because it is damaging future investment in the country.

THE public will be recruited this week to help track down insurance fraudsters who are set to cost policy holders at least €100m this year.

A FEW years back the taxi industry, in a bid to put a sheen on its tarnished image, published a glossy plan called Green Light For Change which sought to underline the humble cabbie’s contribution to society.

The Tanaiste Mary Harney has vowed to put insurance at the top of her political priority list for the next two years.

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.

MOTORISTS will be hit with rising insurance costs again next year despite the fact the industry took in €38 million more in premiums in 2001 than it paid out.

NEW rules banning the “no win no fee” advertising by solicitors must not stop the Personal Injuries Assessment Board being set up, a consumer watchdog warned yesterday.

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.

A YOUNG motorist is threatening to take the Government and the insurance industry to the European courts over his frustration at the high cost of insurance for male drivers.

Political Editor John Downing finds Justice Minister Michael McDowell upbeat about progress being made against the compensation culture

INSURANCE costs will continue to rise, a top Irish insurer warned yesterday.

The Tanaiste, Mary Harney, has announced new regulations requiring insurance firms to give 15 days written notice of policy renewal dates.

Fine Gael has accused the Government of dragging their heals on a report into motor insurance costs in Ireland.

The employers’ body IBEC has presented Tanaiste Mary Harney with a five-point plan on its preferred changes to the insurance industry.

The Irish Insurance Federation has announced the establishment of an Insurance Industry Action Group which will implement some of the recommendations of the Motor Insurance Advisory Board.

The Irish Insurance Federation has said the new Government must immediately implement the recent Motor Insurance Advisory Board report if premiums are to be reduced.

The Progressive Democrats have pledged to reduce Irish car insurance premiums to British levels if they are returned to Government on May 17.

Fianna Fail is pledging to tackle the issue of exorbitant insurance for young drivers if re-elected.