The Small Firms Association (SFA) will appear before the Oireachtas Finance Committee today (September 8, 2016) to give a business perspective on rising motor insurance costs.
The SFA will call for action on a number of fronts, among them an overhaul of the 2004 Book of Quantum, a ‘care not cash’ approach to combat fraud, and increased competition in the insurance market. It will also recommend reviewing the powers of the Injuries Board.
SFA Director, Patricia Callan, stated: “Ireland is facing an insurance costs crisis. [...] An SFA member survey conducted last week found that 96% of motor premiums have gone up in the last year and that the average rate of increase was 35%. The increases cannot even be directly linked to claims on the policy, as the average increase among companies with no claims in the last five years is just one percentage point lower at 34%.”
Callan continued: “Our members have rated insurance costs second only to wage inflation in terms of their business cost concerns. Almost one third of small businesses have had to make cutbacks in important areas of their business in order to afford their rising insurance premiums, while 5% have identified their business survival as at risk on account of the current insurance cost crisis.”
© 2016 - Checkout Magazine by Donncha Mac Cóil
