Greens call on insurers to “show their sums” to reduce premiums

Insurance companies should be forced to “show their sums” and reveal what calculations are behind insurance premiums.

The Greens are seeking a new requirement that insurers display the major factors used in calculating a quote, such as the weighting they attach to location, a person’s age, claims history, business sector etc.

Insurers should also be required to publish the “loss ratio” for each type of insurance package they offer, showing which ones incur the most claims.

The party says that this will give consumers more information, stamp out price gouging, and help improve competition, reducing premiums for business and consumers alike.

The party made the call as part of its submission to the next Action Plan for Insurance Reform. The first plan focused on reducing legal costs and awards paid to injured parties. The Green Party is calling for the next reforms to radically boost transparency for consumers and would-be competitors.

Green Party finance spokesperson, Cllr. Michael Pidgeon said:

“Ireland’s high insurance premiums are a rip off. They keep struggling businesses on the brink of bankruptcy and pile pressure on hard-pressed households.

“It’s time for the insurance companies to show us their sums and reveal how they have calculated such high premiums. This will give consumers and businesses more clarity on what is behind their quote, and might help shame insurers into price reductions.

“We’re also suggesting new measures to bring more insurers to Ireland. An anonymous database of all insurance claims would give would-be competitors certainty, offering a chance to look under the hood of the Irish market. This would help increase competition and cut bills.

“The government gave the insurance industry a lot of the reforms it wanted in the last action plan. Now it’s time to demand fairer prices and transparency.” 

The Greens are also calling for:

• A new requirement to report when customers are declined cover, to be included in the National Claims Information Database (NCID). This is particularly important in business sectors where there are few insurance options and for people with specific needs or disabilities.

• An anonymised database of all insurance claims, to give potential new insurance firms better information on the Irish market and increase the number of competing insurers.

• A new duty on insurers to ensure free access for people with disabilities to the most competitive insurance quotes, which may only be available otherwise on price comparison sites and not by phone.

The Green Party submission to the government’s Action Plan on Insurance Reform is here: https://pidgeon.ie/cut-irelands-insurance-costs/.