Car insurance up by 9% as government slammed for helping 'eye watering profits'
Despite promises by successive Governments to bring rates down, the average price of motor insurance was up 9%
Money ministers are being slammed for allowing insurance companies to make “eye watering profits”, as car cover has jumped by 9%.
Despite promises by successive Governments to bring rates down, the average price of motor insurance was up 9% between 2023 and 2024, according to new Central Bank figures.
The average price of insurance is now €623, up from €571, as the average expected cost of claims per policy increased by 3% to €397. This is the highest it has been since 2014.
The Central Bank highlights the main reason for the increase is the rise in damage claims, such as repairs, up to €192 per policy. However, injury cost claims have remained lower than pre-pandemic levels at €205.
Sinn Fein’s finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty is calling for his legislation, the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill, to be implemented. Under the Bill, which is currently before the Dáil, insurance companies would be forced to show how they have or have not passed on reduced claims costs to their customers, and by how much.
Speaking about the hikes, Mr Doherty said: “The reason this is happening is because the government has sat back and allowed insurance companies to make eye-watering profits totally out of step with industry norms.
“Sinn Féin then led a campaign to ban the unfair and discriminatory practice where insurance companies were artificially hiking the premiums of renewing customers. But despite these reforms, the insurance industry is continuing to fleece motorists in the midst of a raging cost-of-living crisis.
“The government has actively protected the profits of these companies by blocking this legislation. It is time to progress this bill, protect consumers, and pressure the insurance industry to do the right thing and cut prices.”
The personal injuries guidelines introduced in 2021 aimed to decrease insurance costs, but Minister with Responsibility for Financial Services Robert Troy has admitted that a rise in damage costs has “eroded some of the gains made”.
He said: “Work in relation to the introduction of a transparency code is well advanced and the first Cabinet sub committee on insurance reform is meeting in the next number of weeks.” The Green Party’s finance spokesperson Michael Pidgeon said insurance costs are “crippling Irish households”.
The Dublin City Councillor said: “Year on year the costs shoot up. People are paying more and have nothing extra to show for it. The government needs to seriously reform this sector to reduce costs, improve competition, and deliver savings for people.”
By some measures, Irish motorists are paying the most for car insurance in Europe, with the costs of keeping a motor on the road here far above the EU average. That is seen as a major factor in the huge number of uninsured vehicles on our roads, estimated to be just over 100,000 in 2023.
However, the recent introduction of mobile databases and Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology has seen those numbers tumble.
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