Consultation on Proposals to Improve Transparency Measures for Motor Insurance Premiums

• Feedback sought on proposals to increase the transparency in premiums for consumers

• Proposals for more detailed information in insurance quotes and proposal to extend the renewal notice period from 15 to 20 working days

• Recommendations arising from a multi - stakeholder project to address the rising costs of motor insurance

The Central Bank of Ireland has published Consultation Paper 114– ‘Amendments to the Non-Life Insurance (Provision of Information) (Renewal of Policy of Insurance) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 74 of 2007)’.  The purpose of this consultation is to seek views from interested stakeholders on two recommendations from the Action Plan contained in the Government’s Cost of Insurance Working Group Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance.

These proposals include insurers providing additional information on the premium breakdown to consumers and extending the current renewal notification period, in respect of motor insurance, from 15 working days to 20 working days.

The Central Bank is also seeking views on whether this extended notification period should also apply in the case of other classes of insurance covered by the legislation. This includes accident, health, fire, other damage to property, and general liability insurance. 

Submissions to the consultation paper, along with comments and queries, can be emailed to [email protected].

The closing date for submissions is 9 February 2018. All submissions will be published on www.centralbank.ie.

ENDS

Notes

• These proposals can be summarised as follows:      

-          Insurers to provide additional information on the premium breakdown to consumers (Recommendation 2); and

-          Insurers to extend the current renewal notification period from 15 working days to 20 working days to make it easier for motorists to compare pricing when purchasing motor insurance (Recommendation 3). 

• The following classes of non-life insurance are also within the scope of SI No. 74:

-          accident and health insurance;

-          insurance against fire and other damage to property; and

-          general liability.

• In July 2016, the Government established the Cost of Insurance Working Group (CIWG). The objective of the CIWG was to identify and examine the drivers of the cost of motor insurance and to recommend measures to address these issues.

• In January 2017, the Report produced by the CIWG on the Cost of Motor Insurance was published by the Department of Finance, which included an Action Plan to implement the identified recommendations.

• The Central Bank was represented on the CIWG, along with the Departments of Finance, Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Justice and Equality, and Transport, Tourism and Sport, the State Claims Agency and the Personal Injuries Assessment Board.

• The CIWG Report identified 33 recommendations. In addition to the above two mentioned recommendations the Central Bank is also engaging with the Department of Finance to establish a national claims information database (Recommendation 11), in order to address existing data shortfalls and to provide transparency in claims trends. This recommendation is outside the scope of this Consultation Paper.

• Protecting the consumer and providing greater transparency to motor insurance policyholders are key themes of the Report and the accompanying recommendations.