15 Jun 2020
Posted by Barry Aldworth 
Over half of Irish motorists admit they are more concerned about the price of insurance than they were this time last year, as the restrictions introduced in response to the COVID-19 outbreak leave many in a financially unstable position.
According to an AA survey of over 7,000 Irish motorists, 45.15% of respondents strongly agreed that they were more concerned about the cost of insurance than they were at this time last year. Meanwhile, a further 26.14% indicated that they somewhat agreed with this statement.
In total, just 1 in 10 people surveyed by the AA either somewhat or strongly disagreed with this message.
“This survey was carried out shortly before the true scale of COVID-19 in Ireland became known and the reality of a lockdown was even viewed as a possibility, so in all likelihood the numbers of people who may find themselves worried about meeting their insurance payments has possibly grown even higher. You can understand that the issue of insurance prices is not at the forefront of the government’s mind in the current context, but the insurance industry must ensure they are doing their bit to help people through what is an unprecedented event,” Conor Faughnan, AA Director of Consumer Affairs stated.
“The story of high insurance costs is not a new one and while there was some data from the Central Bank last year to indicate that certain cohorts were starting to see a reduction in their premium this was certainly not being seen across the board. Furthermore, just a few months later we find ourselves in a completely different economic world and if the industry doesn’t work with government and other stakeholders to tackle high insurance costs then we face the risk that uninsured driving may start to climb once again.”
The survey also found that over a third of respondents believed that the issue of insurance reform has fallen down the government’s priority list.
36.45% of those surveyed by the AA in February stated that they strongly agreed that the issue of insurance prices was not as important to government as it was 12 months ago, with a further 22.24% somewhat agreeing with this claim.”
“Right now, the Government’s sole focus is rightly on managing the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, as well as the long-term economic impact of the outbreak. However, in time when we begin to return to normal, issues which have been pushed to the side-lines by the Coronavirus will re-emerge,” Faughnan added. “While housing and the state of our economy will be the main priorities, it’s clear that people believe more needs to be done to help reduce the costs of their commutes to and from work.”
