Speaking in the Dáil last night Michael Fitzmaurice TD called for action to be taken on the rising cost of insurance premiums, saying that “Unless the problem is addressed immediately, the steep rise in insurance costs for individuals, and business in particular, is going to cost jobs in the Irish economy.”
“I am aware this week of a business who have 11 trucks on the road and who employ 14 people and whose motor insurance premiums have gone up from €80,000 in 2015 to €125,000 in 2016. This is not sustainable and jobs will be lost to this country if something is not done. I have checked on the cost of insuring the same 11 trucks in Bulgaria and it is €1,200 per truck there. It will not be long before Irish companies decide to set up on the continent if the current situation continues and you couldn’t blame them”
“In the case of young drivers it is almost impossible for any young person to afford insurance starting out now and we have to address that situation too. There are measures that we can carry out like speed restrictors in cars driven by young people and other ideas as well. Then we have the problem with the size of the claims being awarded by Irish system in the case of accidents and injuries which are far higher here than in any other country in Europe. We have to get a handle on what is happening with regard to claims and make them more reasonable and realistic. Farmers are also experiencing huge increases in insurance premiums and some people who may or may not be threatened by flooding cannot get any insurance at all which is an intolerable state of affairs.”
“It is a situation that has to be tackled immediately by any new administration and all the stakeholders will have to be involved in any solution” he concluded.