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Press release

Publication of the Cost of Insurance Working Group’s Eleventh and Final Progress Report

The Eleventh and Final Progress Report of the Cost of Insurance Working Group (CIWG) covers the work carried out by the CIWG to date in 2020. It is also the final update report of the CIWG as the ambitious reform agenda outlined in the Programme for Government will now be led by the newly established Cabinet Committee on Economic Recovery and Investment’s sub-Group on Insurance Reform. This Sub-group is chaired by the Tánaiste, and includes Minister Donohoe, Minister McGrath, Minister McEntee, Minister O’Gorman, together with Ministers of State Troy and Fleming as standing members. The sub-Group held its first meeting on 30 September 2020.

Taking account of the new Whole-of-Government approach, this Cabinet Sub-group will be the most appropriate forum to take up the residual work of the CIWG while also pursuing the necessary delivery of the Government’s reform agenda. The sub-Group will also be commencing work on a good footing considering the work that has already been accomplished by the CIWG.

Minister of State Fleming commented as follows on the Eleventh Progress Report:

“First of all, I would like to acknowledge the contribution of my predecessors and the officials who have worked on the CIWG since 2016. Many positive reforms have been introduced to address the cost and availability of insurance. However, I acknowledge that there is still much work to do particularly in relation to the cost and availability of insurance for small businesses, and voluntary/community groups. I remain of the view that the single most essential challenge, which must be overcome if there is to be a sustainable reduction in insurance costs, is to bring the levels of personal injury damages awarded in this country more in line with those awarded in other jurisdictions. I am pleased that the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee has been established on 28 April 2020 and has commenced its important work and I anticipate that it will furnish draft personal injury guidelines to the Executive Board of the Judicial Council shortly. While I cannot influence the Committee in how it does its work, I hope it will recognise that there is a basis for a substantial reduction in award levels. If this were to happen, I would expect the insurance industry to take account of such reductions in its pricing.

I also welcome the expansion of the National Claims Information Database to include information on Employer and Public liability insurance claims. I look forward to the Central Bank’s second NCID report on private motor insurance, which is due to be published shortly. I expect that this will once again confirm that the cost of settling claims, both in respect of the award levels granted and the legal fees associated with pursuing litigation, are adding substantially to the cost of insurance for consumers and businesses. I believe one of the key messages emerging from the NCID generally is that the role of PIAB is critical to getting settlement costs down.

The newly established Cabinet Committee on Economic Recovery and Investment’s sub-Group on Insurance Reform, chaired by the Tánaiste, Leo Varadkar TD, shows the priority that the new Government attaches to insurance reform. I note that the remaining recommendations of the CIWG will now be subsumed under the work of the sub-Group and that future updates on these, and other key deliverables, will be provided by that sub-Group going forward. I believe that this Cabinet Sub-group will be the most appropriate forum to take up the residual work of the CIWG while also pursuing the necessary delivery of the Government’s insurance reform agenda.”

The Eleventh and Final Progress Report of the Cost of Insurance Working Group

ENDS

Further information from:

pressoffice@finance.gov.ie

Background Note to Editors:

The Cost of Insurance Working Group, which was most recently chaired by Minister of State for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance, Mr Sean Fleming TD, was established in 2016 and is comprised of representatives from the Department of Finance, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Department of Justice, the Central Bank of Ireland, the State Claims Agency, and the Personal Injuries Assessment Board. It has produced two reports since its establishment. These are:

  • The Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance was published in January 2017 and made 33 recommendations with 71 associated actions to be carried out in an agreed timeframe, and
  • The Report on the Cost of Employer and Public Liability Insurance was published in January 2018 and made 15 recommendations with 29 associated actions to be carried out in an agreed timeframe.

These key developments this Update Report notes are as follows:

  • The Judicial Council Act 2019 provides for the establishment of the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee (PIGC), which is tasked with drawing up guidelines on the level of damages which should be awarded in personal injuries actions, and which will replace the Book of Quantum. The PIGC was established on the 28 April 2020 and is expected to complete draft guidelines shortly which will require approval by the Judicial Council.
  • The Law Reform Commission (LRC) recently published its report in respect of the possibility of developing constitutionally sound legislation to delimit or cap the amounts of damages which a court may award in respect of some or all categories of personal injuries. This report was a result of a key recommendation of the CIWG and provides an excellent basis for the Government to consider this issue in the context of the need to reduce award levels for general damages.
  • The Central Bank has determined that it is feasible to extend the National Claims Information Database (NCID) to include Employer Liability and Public Liability insurance (EL/PL). The relevant legislation to formally extend the scope of the NCID was signed by the Governor of the Central Bank on the 3 September 2020 (S.I. No 336 of 2020). It is understood that the Bank has commenced data collection and intends to publish the first NCID EL/PL report in H1 2021. The Bank also intends to publish the second NCID report on private motor insurance shortly.
  • The Department of Justice has recently concluded a public consultation on the setting of the discount rate in personal injury actions and will provide a report once their review of the discount rate has concluded.
  • The Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019, another important step in increasing transparency in the insurance market, was commenced on 1 September 2020 on a phased basis.

These reforms are already having a significant impact with regard to private motor insurance (CSO figures from September 2020 show that the price of motor insurance is now 30.8% lower than the July 2016 peak). The implementation of the remaining recommendations of the CIWG will now be overseen by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Recovery and Investment’s sub-Group on Insurance Reform, who will provide updates on these, and other key deliverables, going forward.

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