Disgruntled motorists swamp government with insurance woes

A GOVERNMENT department is being swamped with complaints from disgruntled motorists claiming they are being forced to pay exorbitant amounts for insurance.

Figures from the Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment reveal the number of complaints soared from just over 700 in 2001 to nearly 2000 last year. This is despite high profile moves to tackle the problem of high insurance costs.

The vast majority of the complaints related to personal insurance premiums, particularly for motoring insurance, according to the department.