Action Plan for Insurance Reform: Statements
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-13
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Robert Troy (FF), Longford-Westmeath

I thank all the Senators for their contributions today. The issues raised reflect the continuing importance of insurance reform for households, businesses, farms, voluntary organisations and community groups. They also reflect the reality that, notwithstanding progress in recent years, insurance remains a matter of significant concern for many people, as well as for the Government.
Senator Casey hit the nail on the head when he said we can build on the progress and that reform is not a singular event but is an ongoing process. We have introduced reforms that have made progress and reduced premiums in certain instances and we want to continue to build on that.
I acknowledge Senator Nelson Murray who has worked on this issue long before she ever came into this House. I take issue with the Sinn Féin representative today who seems to believe that nothing would be done were it not for Deputy Doherty. I acknowledge that he has been vocal in this area but he did not make any submission to the action plan on insurance reform with which the Senator took issue today. The Personal Injuries Assessment Board was established long before Deputy Doherty was ever a Member of this House or the other House. Reforms have been introduced by this Government and previous Governments but we want to build on that.
As a Minister of State with responsibility in this area, I have no issue with taking a good suggestion from any side of the House. A previous speaker alluded to the rebalancing of the duty of care. Senator Ó Céidigh championed that as an Independent Senator some years ago. None of us have exclusivity on good ideas or solutions to problems faced by society. I am very open to meeting with everybody.
Senator Higgins made the case about the establishment of more mutual insurance organisations. She spoke about communities she knows are looking to establish them. If she is listening to my response, I am happy to meet those communities. We have a community forum event later in the year and they are very welcome to participate in that. We have a very good mutual insurance society in Ireland at the moment – Irish Public Bodies, which celebrates 100 years of its existence this year. It is providing insurance to public bodies, local authorities and schools – but, funnily, only to a certain number of schools. Schools with a certain ethos do not want to engage with it. They would rather engage with a private insurance company as they feel they get better value for money. Irish Public Bodies provide a great service to local authorities. It has expanded its remit in recent times to cover Tidy Towns. I am engaging with it to see if there is capacity for it to expand its remit even further and to look at other community groups. Again, that is something that we can look at in the context of our community forum later this year.
All available independent data points to the fact that reforms are working albeit maybe not as quick as we would like or maybe they are not delivering as big a reduction in premiums as we would like. The data continues to demonstrate the importance of the Injuries Resolution Board. The board remains the State's most efficient and cost-effective means of resolving personal injury claims. Awards through the board are broadly comparable to those achieved through litigation but are delivered in a much shorter timeframe and at substantially lower legal cost. On average, the cost through litigation is €20,000 in legal fees compared to €1,000 through the Injuries Resolution Board. That message cannot be reinforced and amplified sufficiently frequently and loudly in order that people realise that it is a simple, efficient way to get access to the compensation they deserve.
The proposed Judicial Council (amendment) Bill 2026 has particular importance in that regard. The process for reviewing the personal injuries guidelines must be one that commands confidence across the system. The Bill will help to provide a clearer statutory framework for the review process, bringing greater consistency and transparency to a matter of significant public and economic importance. That was a real, live challenge the Government faced late last year. It was addressed in a very comprehensive and reasonable way by the Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, and a collective decision by the whole of the Government.
A number of Senators – in particular Senator McCarthy – spoke about greater transparency. Perhaps he is unaware that we have published a transparency code, the first of its kind across the whole of Europe. That is an innovative measure that will boost understanding of how premiums are formed and will guide consumers towards measures they can take to influence their own premiums. I do not think there is anything wrong with arming consumers with the relevant data so they can get a better outcome for themselves. Senator Higgins seems to think there is. The Central Bank carried out a report which shows that only one in four customers shop around when their premium comes up for renewal. That means three out of four do not. Of the one in four who do look around, 77% achieve cost savings. The Sinn Féin Senator nearly led us to believe her premium had gone from €400 to €900 but because she was with a broker she got it back to €400. She was right to shop around but she was trying to lead us to believe that premiums are out of control altogether and that is not the case. Premiums are still lower today than they were in 2016. That is a matter of fact. They have sneaked up in the last two years but motor insurance premiums are still 24% lower today than in 2016. In the past two years they have started to increase but in the last four months they have shown a reduction again. That is why the transparency code has been introduced, namely, to bring clarity to the matter and to inform the consumers in order that they are able to get better value for their money.
Another point I would make is that we are working as a Government to try to attract more players to the market. If the market was so lucrative and there was so much money to be made, would people not be falling over themselves to get into the market? That is not giving carte blanche apologies for the insurance industry. I am not apologetic for the insurance industry and Senator Nelson Murray will know that. We are a small market in a global context, however. If someone was looking to enter into a new market, there are cities in the world that are bigger than the whole Irish market where we already have multiple players in place. We did achieve a number of new entrants in the last number of years and we will continue to try to promote new entrants into the market while working with the Industrial Development Authority, IDA, and working with existing players that are there now to expand their offering and their risk appetite. It is fair to say a number of players have expanded their risk appetite in the last number of years.
To the point in relation to the mutual offering, that is certainly something I am happy to look at in greater detail, as Senator Higgins suggested To be fair to IPB Insurance, we have met its representatives on a number of occasions and it is hopefully seeking to expand its appetite too. It is governed by a board that looks prudently in terms of all new cover that it will extend.
Flood insurance has been raised a number of times. Certainly, I have huge frustrations in terms of areas where the State has spent tens of millions of euro rolling out flood defence measures and those areas still being without adequate flood cover. I am working with the Ministers of State, Deputies Moran and Cummins, in relation to signing an agreement that will give confidence that where those measures are in place, there is responsibility to implement those measures and that insurance companies will then look at putting cover in place where permanent flood defences have already been put in place. I am hoping to make progress on that this year. Officials in my Department are currently examining a specific Irish market option in relation to areas where there are no defences in place.
The role of innovation will be important, including Ireland's hosting of a Lloyd’s Lab Accelerator cohort this year. Innovation has an important role to play in strengthening resilience and supporting market development. Lloyd's Lab is a ten-week product development accelerator by Lloyd's of London designed to rapidly develop tests and refine new products, concepts and solutions. This year's iteration of the lab will work on Irish-focused themes, such as flood resilience and coverage, cyber resilience, artificial intelligence and export finance. Collaborating with the Lloyd’s Lab Accelerator will contribute to innovation, allow for partnership with a significant stakeholder in the international insurance market and highlight Ireland as a leading destination for insurance innovation during Ireland’s Presidency of the European Council in 2026.
It is also important to recall the broader reform agenda, which includes questions of fairness and access to financial protection. In that regard, the statutory right to be forgotten provision for cancer survivors was a very important development this year. We are moving from a voluntary code to a statutory footing and the Government is providing greater certainty and consistency for consumers who have completed treatment and are in remission. This is a reminder that insurance reform is not solely about market efficiency; it is also about fairness, dignity and the removal of unnecessary burdens.
It is fair to say, therefore, that progress has been made under the previous action plan. Progress is being made under this current action plan, which is less than 12 months old. However, I do recognise that the work is incomplete; more needs to be done. The challenge is for me and the whole of the Government. That is why it is not just resting within the Department of Finance. It is a cross-governmental Cabinet sub-committee where we have enterprise, finance, public expenditure and justice all working together to maintain momentum, complete the remaining actions and ensure that reform is reflected not only in legislation and policy but where it really matters for practical outcomes for consumers, businesses and communities.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-13/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:56+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-13