Urgent action needed as concern over insurance prices rises

AA Ireland has highlighted the urgent need for action in tackling insurance prices in Ireland, as almost half of motorists surveyed by the organisation stated they are now significantly more concerned about their insurance costs than 12 months ago.
In response to a survey of over 6,000 motorists undertaken by the motoring organisation, 45.19% of respondents strongly agreed with the that they were now more concerned about insurance costs than they were last year. Meanwhile, a further 26.14% somewhat agreed that this was true for them.
The AA, which has been lobbying on the issue of insurance reform since 2015, urged whichever parties ultimately enter into government to ensure that insurance costs are not allowed to fall onto the back burner.
“Ever since the issue of rising insurance prices first emerged, we have been actively engaged with Government on how best to tackle the problem, starting with the publication of our own 5 Point Plan for Insurance Reform which contained a number of recommendations that were then included in the Cost of Insurance Working Group’s Report. Unfortunately, since then the issue of insurance process has had to compete with matters such as Brexit and housing to get government attention which has led to a somewhat limited amount of progress being made in enacting many of the vital changes recommended by the Working Group’s report,” Conor Faughnan, AA Director of Consumer Affairs stated. “However, more recently the issues which started in motor insurance have started to bleed into other areas, such as commercial liability insurance, which is starting to impact on communities and businesses across Ireland. As a result, it is now hugely important that our next Government devote significant attention to tackling this issue”
“Recent statistics from the Central Stastistics Office has found a drop of almost 7% in motor insurance costs in January 2020 compared to January 2019, but while this may be true as a statistical average there are still hundreds of thousands of motorists out there who are seeing their costs continue to increase.”
In terms of motorists’ priorities for the next government, over 80% of those surveyed stated that tackling rising insurance prices was the most important issue to them.
83.22% of those surveyed by the AA stated they believed that the cost of motor insurance should be a priority for the next Government. Meanwhile, a further 12.55% stating that while the issue should not be a priority, it should be given adequate attention.
“Ultimately there are many challenging issues facing the next Government, but it is clear that insurance costs are having a major impact on the pockets of many motorists across the country and is a pressing concern for many. As an insurance intermediary, we attempt to help our customers secure the best price possible by working with a number of underwriters on their behalf, but while some people are seeing slight drops in their premia, this is far from true for the majority,” Faughnan added. “This is particularly true if you happen to have an atypical driving history or fall into a group that is viewed as a higher risk. For example, we are regularly contacted by parents who are trying to help their sons or daughters get on the road for the first time but are finding affordable insurance almost impossible to secure.”