Locals plan Dáil protest over soaring cost of insurance
Olga Aughey
Local businesses plan to take to the streets outside Dáil Éireann on the 29th of this month in protest against the spiralling cost of insurance, which they claim is closing businesses, costing jobs and “strangling society”.
More than 20,000 jobs are predicted to be lost nationally in the next 12 months as a result of the insurance crisis.
Motor insurance has increased by 62% in four years, and liability insurance by 204% in five years.
That’s according to Peter Boland, director of the Alliance for Insurance Reform, who was speaking at a meeting hosted by FF TD Robert Troy in the Annebrook Hotel recently.
“The state is failing miserably in its responsibility on behalf of consumers,” said Mr Boland.
The MD of one local firm said his enterprise has paid €600,000 in insurance this year alone. Ciaran Murtagh, who owns factories in the UK, Portugal, and Ireland, said the insurance for the Irish facility costs two and half times that of the UK factory.
“Because we’re based in Ireland, for a company to pay €600,000 a year in insurance is just wrong. I’d be better off if I just moved to Portugal, where insurance is seen as a minor inconvenience, the cost is so low.”
Mr Murtagh said that two years ago 28 companies came together to buy insurance for 2,500 vehicles because, they had worked out that they had paid €7 million to insurers over five years, while the insurers only paid out €1.2 million on those liabilities.
Dermot Leavy, speaking on behalf of the Westmeath childcare sector, said their insurance went up 120% this year. He said there is only one insurance company left in Ireland insuring childcare facilities, “which is crazy”.
“We were with an insurance company up until December when they pulled out of the market. Our insurance went up by 120%, from under €6,000 to over €13,000. It has increased four times since we started in 2005. We are behind any campaign to tackle this.”
According to Mr Boland, over half of the childcare sector is up for insurance renewal in June, and more marginal businesses will close because of it. He says many operators are having to borrow money, or use cash reserves and savings to get through another year, but that is not sustainable in the long run.
Large payouts are also adversely affecting play centres, and have caused 16 centres to close nationwide, with more expected to shut their doors this year. Meanwhile, 74% of personal injury claims are settled outside of the court system.
“The kicker about that is that everybody gets paid – the barristers, solicitors, the plaintiff gets a few bob extra, and the insurer just passes the cost on to the policyholders who pick up the tab for that," said Mr Boland.
Deputy Troy listed failed government promises such as an anti-fraud unit within An Garda Síochána, penalties for fraudulent claims, and a database to collect figures in relation to employer and public liability, none of which have been followed through on by government.
“It’s important that we build a campaign to demonstrate that we need change urgently.
"Our party has produced five pieces of legislation to tackle these issues. We have a chance to get this bill passed following a general election, and we will make this a key issue because it is strangling business, strangling community and sporting organisations and it has gone on for too long.”