Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher claims the strategy adopted by the Government to deal with the spiralling costs of insurance, has completely failed to deliver any tangible results.
A private members’ motion calling for urgent action to tackle rising business insurance, car insurances and house insurance costs will be debated in the Dáil today the 21st of March.
Fianna Fail’s Spokesperson on Finance Michael McGrath TD said the premium increases being faced by many individuals and businesses are not sustainable and has called on the government to step up its efforts to introduce vital reforms that will help consumers.
Pat the Cope added there has rightly been a keen political and media focus on the major difficulties faced by motor insurance consumers in recent years but much less of an emphasis on the rising insurance costs faced by businesses.
Charities, community groups and sports clubs are all being affected by escalating costs, he added.
Pat the Cope stated while the CSO does not publish data on the cost of insurance for businesses, we know from representative bodies and from individual employers that the cost of Employer and Public Liability insurance has increased dramatically for many in recent times.
“This is particularly true for businesses that have a significant public footfall including those in the retail and hospitality sectors. In addition to premium hikes, other policy changes have been made to the detriment of businesses including increases in excess levels and the increasing prevalence of policy exclusions.
“Businesses consistently bring up the issue of the claims environment as a key issue driving premium increases. This Government has consistently failed to tackle the growing crises there is in this country regarding insurance costs, be that at individual level with cars or houses now we have the contagion of increased insurance costs into the business sector.
“The government needs to reboot its Working Group on the Cost of Insurance and focus on what can be done in the short term in addition to longer term objectives. The reality is that many businesses cannot afford to wait until 2019 or 2020 for reforms to be introduced. They need action on this issue now and we will be calling for this in today’s Dáil debate,” concluded Pat the Cope.
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