Insurance Alliance slams government report
Describing the report as “an embarrassment to a government that claims to be on the side of small business owners,” Alliance Spokesman Peter Boland said, “Its main recommendations call for more reports and analysis while asking kindly for the insurance industry and legal profession to cooperate. The only Republic of Opportunity we see is the one exploited by the insurance industry and legal profession as Irish businesses and charities are bled dry.
“It’s clear that the vested interests profiting off the backs of Irish organisations have no interest in reforming a system that’s driving big increases in profits for their shareholders,” he claimed, “The government needs to show backbone in taking on these sectors to protect jobs and services across the country.”
The recently-launched Alliance claims to have highlighted how the report makes it clear that the Department of Finance is biased in protecting the insurance industry via the report’s comment that “the Working Group always remained conscious of the need to ensure that a financially stable and solvent insurance sector is maintained” while not mentioning policy-holders as a priority.
“This is an insult to struggling businesses and not-for-profit organisations,” continued Peter Boland, “It’s clear that the Government doesn’t have the same urgency to ensure financially solvent SME and charity sectors.”
The vast majority of the actions outlined in the report involve the production of feasibility studies, proposals, reports, options or detailed analyses. It gives the overall impression of being a holding document to avoid actual action, he said.
“Every day members of the Alliance for Insurance Reform receive an insurance renewal which is inexplicably increased from the year before. Every day there are jobs under threat, services reduced and organisations forced out of existence in response to crippling insurance premiums from an out-of-control insurance industry and legal profession. It has been over 18 months since the Government first established their working group on insurance costs and no tangible progress has been made in reducing premiums.”
