Government working on 'myriad of actions' to drive down insurance costs

A Sinn Féin survey found that 58% of respondents who received their renewal since the new personal injuries guidelines came into effect actually saw their premiums increase.

Labour Party finance spokesperson Ged Nash said that in recent weeks he has come across cases of insurance companies refusing to take on customers. Picture: iStock

The Government is working on a "myriad of actions" to tackle the insurance industry and bring down premiums for customers, the Dáil has heard.

Junior finance minister Sean Fleming said the Government is engaging directly with insurers to "hold them to account" and to make sure savings are passed on to consumers, following the introduction of personal injury guidelines.

Pointing to the national claims database produced by the Central Bank, he told the Dáil: "Ireland has a sophisticated transparency system in place to monitor insurance pricing."

He was responding to a Sinn Féin bill that would require insurance companies to show how they are passing savings on to their customers.

However, Mr Fleming said there is not "a scintilla of a sentence or a syllable" in the Sinn Féin bill that would bring about reductions in the cost of insurance, as all the proposals do is require the publication of a report.

A report is not going to shame the insurance companies into reducing premiums," he said.

However, he said the Sinn Féin bill would be taken into account when the Government is drafting legislation in relation to the action plan for insurance.

Sinn Féin finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty said his legislation would require the insurance industry to provide information to the Central Bank outlining how the cost of claims has reduced as a result of the new personal injuries guidelines, and how they have passed those savings to their customers, "euro for euro".

He said consumers have been repeatedly ripped off by insurance companies that have put their customers "at the bottom of the list", but the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2021 would hold the insurance industry to account.

Mr Doherty said the personal injuries guidelines, in place for over a month now, have significantly reduced the cost of claims for insurance companies.

However, he said a Sinn Féin survey found that 58% of respondents who received their renewal since the new guidelines came into effect actually saw their premiums increase.

Labour Party finance spokesperson Ged Nash said insurance companies have to be taken on.

He said that in recent weeks he has come across cases of insurance companies refusing to take on customers, even where applicants had made no previous claims, meaning companies have been "effectively closed down".

A number of Opposition TDs said the Government is simply kicking the can down the road by having the bill considered again in nine months' time.