Donegal TD Pearse Doherty has said the entry of OUTsurance to the Irish home and car insurance market should boost competition and lower prices.
The Donegal TD says insurance companies are not doing enough to reduce costs for consumers.
South Africa based OUTsurance Group is the first new locally authorised personal insurance underwriter in Ireland in over a decade. The company, which currently employs 70 people in Dublin, plans to bring its number of employees up to 300.
The Donegal TD welcomed the arrival and said: ““The entry of OUTsurance should provide greater competition in our insurance market which should, in theory, result in greater access to and lower prices for insurance cover.
“However, we have seen over recent years how the insurance industry has ripped off consumers with high prices despite a swathe of reforms that have reduced their costs and increased their profit margins.
“The Personal Injuries Guidelines have reduced the cost of claims by up to 41 percent across certain channels, with the number of claims and cost of claims per policy having fallen in recent years in the car insurance market.
“Despite this, insurance costs remain high, while the industry records the highest levels of profit for more than 20 years.
“This industry continues to record profits, pocketing the savings it has enjoyed as a result of recent reforms instead of passing them on fully to consumers.
“My legislation, the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill in 2021 that would require the insurance industry to report to the Central Bank detailing how it has or hasn’t passed on these savings to customers – euro for euro.
“This would allow the Dáil to hold the industry to account and apply downward pressure on prices.”
Deputy Doherty has called on other insurance companies to respond to the new entry by “putting consumers first and reducing prices”.
