Bigger Govt effort needed to tackle high motor insurance costs

   - More needs to be done to address award levels, insurance fraud and transparency -

Fianna Fáil TD for Dublin Fingal Darragh O’Brien says the Government needs to work harder to implement all of the recommendations of the Cost of Insurance Working Group Report.  This week marks the first anniversary of the report’s publication, and while some of the recommendations have been applied, many are still outstanding.

Deputy O’Brien explained, “My party has been to the fore of exposing rip-off insurance culture and it was on foot of our Private Members Motion on the spiralling cost of motor insurance that the Working Group was set up.  I welcomed the publication of its report last year, but warned that the recommendations had to be implemented in full in order to deliver for motorists.

“I am concerned that a year after the publication, there are a number of key recommendations that are still outstanding – issues like award levels, insurance fraud and transparency around industry data. 

“Despite CSO data revealing that aggregate premiums have fallen in recent months, I am still being contacted by people – mainly younger drivers or motorists with older cars – who are continuing to see their premiums increase.  This is a serious problem in north County Dublin, and is putting additional pressure on people who are already dealing with a high cost of living.  Motorists are being penalised by high premiums because of a lack of will from this Government to effectively tackle the problem

“The high cost of motor insurance is no doubt linked to the substantial number of claims that are settled out of court and outside of the Injuries Board process, and by the failure of the Government to deal with the collapse of Setanta Insurance.

“This is an issue that affects thousands of people in Dublin, and across the country and we will be continuing to press it with the Government to ensure that it does not fall off the political agenda”.