MORE DATA NEEDED TO MAKE INSURANCE COMPETITIVE

Seán Sherlock TD
24 November 2016

Comments from Labour Spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Reform and Finance Committee member, Seán Sherlock, on the launch of the committee’s report on the Rising Costs of Motor Insurance:

“The biggest issue in this report is the lack of transparent data provided by the insurance industry for the increases in premiums.

We still do not know the exact reasons for the increase in premiums because the insurance industry was not as forthcoming as they should have been.

“The report calls for greater transparency around data sharing so that customers at least have a sense of what percentage of the increase to provide for cover for accidents and the percentage attributable to profit.

“The absence of more voices representing insurers was disappointing, but the Minister’s report must tackle the issue of data. Real information leads to greater transparency and ultimately better price competition in the market.”

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITOR:

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE REPORT BY THE JOIN COMMITTEE ON FINANCE, PUBLIC, PUBLIC EXPENDITURE AND REFORM ON THE RISING COST OF MOTOR INSURANCE:

• An end to the “closed shop” mentality of the industry and calls for full transparency in relation to claims information;
• Calls for the Central Statistics Office to be given a statutory role in collating insurance data;
• Recommends that consumers be given detailed cost information in renewal notices;
• Calls for more pro-active regulation of the industry by the Central Bank of Ireland with a greater focus on consumer protection;
• Recommends that insurance companies be compelled to inform the consumer whether they have taken into account the mandatory medical assessments for over 70s drivers when calculating insurance premia for this cohort;
• Greater powers for the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB), with the objective of increasing the number of claims cases settled by PIAB, thereby reduces claims costs generally;
• Insurers be compelled to notify customers in advance of settling claims made against them;
• Recommends that the Book of Quantum be reviewed and updated on a regular basis;
• Recommends that recent changes to the monetary jurisdictions of the civil courts be reviewed.

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