Insurance Federation denies price-fixing as homeowners struggle to afford premiums

The Irish Insurance Federation has today denied that homeowners in flood-risk areas are being targeted by price-fixing.

An Oireachtas Committee was told that the cost of premiums has fallen by 4% in the past year - despite eight major flooding since 2000, costing €700m.

IIF chief executive Kevin Thompson said that there is no price-fixing, and that homeowners are only refused insurance if there is a certainty that their property will flood.

"Some people pay a higher premium or have a higher flood excess because the flood risk is higher," he said.

"Exclusion of cover is a last resort.

"Insurance offers protection against a risk, which is not a certainty. It is not tenable to ask policy holders in general to absorb the cost of losses, nor is this sustainable from a business-model point of view from the insurer's perspective."