IRHA continues to campaign to reduce insurance costs

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New Ministerial Group on Insurance Reform meets Alliance for Insurance Reform, with the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) involved. 

The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) is an active member of the Alliance for Insurance Reform (AIR), which is a representative group formed with the sole objective of reducing spiralling insurance costs in Ireland to sustainable levels.  The group consists of a wide range of civic, sporting and small business representative bodies as well as individual businesses; all of them affected by the unsustainable cost of insurance in Ireland.

Below is a note of the recent meeting between AIR and the new Government and was issued to all members by Peter Boland representing AIR.

“At short notice, the Board of the Alliance met a newly-formed Insurance Reform Ministerial Group. Chaired by Leo Varadkar, this was a preliminary meeting at which we got the opportunity to present our agenda for insurance reform in the early days of the new Government. Following are the key headlines from the meeting:

In attendance were:

Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste & Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment

Helen McEntee, Minister for Justice

Michael McGrath, Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform

Paschal Donohoe, Minister for Finance

Sean Fleming, Minister of State Department of Finance with responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions & Insurance

Robert Troy, Minister of State Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with responsibility for Trade Promotion.

Plus Officials and Advisors.

Overall objective:To get insurance sorted as quickly as possible. (The Tánaiste acknowledged that the work of the last Government had not had any impact on insurance costs).

Overall response:

The validity of all the issues we raised was acknowledged:

  • Dramatic reduction in general damages for minor injuries
  • Rebalancing of the duty of care
  • Fully-funded Garda response to insurance fraud
  • Commitments from insurers on potential reductions
  • Strengthen and enhance the PIAB
  • Swift resolution of ongoing Covid19-related business interruption issue

Commitments and comments:

  • Ministerial Group to stay together to address insurance reform
  • Memorandum for Government to be prepared to outline their work
  • Minister McEntee committed to review of occupier liability legislation to be commenced this summer. Report by end 2020
  • AIR await confirmation on whether it will get sight of the draft guidelines being produced by the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee, scheduled for end October 2020.
  • Recommendations following on from the Law Reform Commission report by end 2020.
  • Department of Justice has produced a report on potential avenues for further cooperation between the Gardaí and insurers which the Garda Commissioner is reviewing. Ms. McEntee will share that review with us.
  • Min. Donohoe stated that he continues to pursue business interruption issue with the regulators 
  • Min. McGrath highlighted the need to fully remove the incentive for going to court with PI claims
  • Ministerial Group to meet with Alliance again before the end of the year.
  • Min of State Fleming will pursue commitments to reductions from the insurers based on individual reforms
  • Min of State Fleming will be coordinating the response of the Ministerial Group
  • Min of State Troy is assuming responsibility for the PIAB and will be addressing reform of the Board 

The Tánaiste committed to the Ministerial Group meeting the Alliance again before the end of the year.”