Alliance welcomes replacement of CIWG
“The Cost of Insurance Working Group had become a box-ticking exercise and unfortunately for policyholders none of the boxes that were ticked applied downward pressure on insurance costs.” – AIR Director Peter Boland.
“The Cost of Insurance Working Group had become a box-ticking exercise and unfortunately for policyholders none of the boxes that were ticked applied downward pressure on insurance costs,” commented Alliance Director Peter Boland on the Government’s announcement.
The success of this Sub-Group will be measured by the speed with which it moves to get real reforms in place, he added.
“We note that on the launch of the plan, Deputy Sean Fleming, Minister of State at the Department of Finance with responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance, identified a substantial reduction in the level of damages for personal injuries paid out in Ireland as being key to meaningful reform. Additionally, we would see the rebalancing of the duty of care applied to policyholders in Ireland as an essential part of the reform agenda.
“We look forward to seeing the detailed plans and timelines of the Sub-Committee and trust that it will move swiftly to implement them as it’s clear that the Irish economy will not recover from the pandemic through SMEs, nor will Irish society recover through charity, voluntary and community groups, unless insurance is sorted.”
The Cost of Insurance Working Group, latterly chaired by Minister of State for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance Mr Sean Fleming TD, was established in 2016. It comprised 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.
The Eleventh and Final Progress Report of the CIWG was published recently and covers the work carried out by the Group to date in 2020. This final update follows on from the reform agenda outlined in the Programme for Government.
The newly-established Cabinet Committee on Economic Recovery and Investment’s sub-Group on Insurance Reform will be chaired by the Tánaiste and includes Ministers Paschal Donohoe, Michael McGrath, Helen McEntee and Roderic O’Gorman together with Ministers of State Robert Troy and Sean Fleming as standing members. It held its first meeting on the 30th of September.
The Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee was established on 28th of April 2020 and is expected to furnish draft personal injury guidelines to the Executive Board of the Judicial Council shortly.
