Our CEO Brendan Nevin joined Chris O’Donoghue on Newstalk’s Breakfast show to discuss the 26% year-on-year rise in car insurance premiums.
During the show, Brendan outlined these three key reasons as to why premiums are climbing:
- Fraudulent claims: A perennial issue in which the honest car insurance customer is continuing to pick up the bill, adding about €50 to each individual policy. Increased monitoring and prosecution by law enforcement is the way to rectify fraudulent activity.
- High claims compensation: Recent anecdotal evidence has suggested that courts are awarding higher compensation than before, meaning Insurers need to shore up their reserves. They construe each high award as a benchmark for the next and motorists pay for this in their premium.
- Market regulation: Previous car insurers such as Quinn Insurance, PMPA and Setanta Insurance left their debt legacy for the Irish industry, effectively passing it on to the Irish consumer. The industry needs tighter regulation in this respect, whereby Insurers should not be allowed to pass their debt on to honest motorists – especially Insurers who have been rejected a licence to trade here.
Click here to listen to Brendan’s interview in full – it begins about one quarter of the way in.