Treacy Establishes Motor Insurance Advisory Board

Mr. Noel Treacy, T.D., Minister for Science, Technology & Commerce today (Thursday 3rd September, 1998) announced the establishment of a new Motor Insurance Advisory Board. Membership of the Board is appended in the Notes for Editors.

"As a result of a major economic evaluation of insurance costs in Ireland and the factors giving rise to relatively high motor insurance premiums a reappraisal of the role and functions of the Motor Insurance Advisory Board has been undertaken by our Department," Minister Treacy said. "I intend to ask the Board, to establish a mechanism for systematically monitoring developments in motor insurance costs and for providing meaningful analysis and evaluation of the factors influencing changes in motor insurance premium rates and related matters," the Minister said.

Minister Treacy has decided that the new Board will be much more broadly representative of consumer, insurance user and road safety and road traffic interests, than before. The Minister said that he expects the new Board to act, not only as a monitoring agency, but also in providing advice to him on the charges for motor insurance as between different risk categories of drivers having regard to the claims structure in each category and on any matter which the Board itself see as affecting premiums charged and the methods of providing motor insurance.

The Minister stated that "because of the ongoing concern about rising motor insurance costs, in general, and particularly in the young driver category, it is important that my Department should have an independent source of information and advice on cost and price developments in the motor insurance market and the key factors influencing these changes".

The Minister referred to growing concern over accident statistics. Figures have suggested that our accident rate is twice that of the U.K. In 1997 there were 472 road fatalities in Ireland. On the basis of past trends and assuming no corrective action, it has been estimated that the number of road fatalities could increase to at least 550 in the year 2002. The Minister said that this scenario is completely unacceptable and the Government's strategy as contained in "The Road to Safety", has been formulated to reduce the number of road deaths. The primary target of the strategy is to reduce Irish road fatalities by the year 2002 by at least 20% on the 1997 level and to achieve a similar reduction in the number of serious injuries from road accidents. The reductions will be achieved by ensuring greater compliance with the existing law in a number of specified areas. Specifically the strategy aims:

• To reduce the incidence of excess speeding by 50%, from present levels;
• To increase the wearing rate for front and rear seat belts, to at least 85%;
• To reduce by 25%, the number of fatal road accidents occurring during the hours of darkness;

New policies and actions to be introduced include

• Extending the use of automatic speed detection systems including the insulation of fixed speed cameras;
• Commencing evidential breath testing for drink driving;
• Extending on the spot fines for non-wearing of seat belts and other offences;
• Developing a penalty point system which would trigger disqualification following repeated driving offences.

The enforcement process in relation to the Road Traffic Acts has been enhanced by a major upgrading of Garda IT systems and the issuing of 120,000 on-the-spot fines for speeding offences since its launch a year ago.

The Minister exhorted the motor insurance industry as a whole to adopt strategies to complement, develop and even extend accident preventive action taken by the State authorities. The continued provision of funding by the industry to bodies such as the National Safety Council was very welcome, he said, but the commercial reality was that the prime objective of individual companies is to survive and prosper financially. Nevertheless, it was expected that companies, in general, should share statistical data related to risk factors, accident frequency and severity and other relevant data and to co-operate with the new Motor Insurance Advisory Board, in its work in this area.

"The availability of sound analysis and advice is essential for Government policy to be properly informed and backed-up by relevant and precise empirical data and not just arbitrary techniques. I would hope that the new Board can collectively draw on the expertise of its membership to input into such policy formation," the Minister concluded.

Notes for Editors

The membership of the Motor Insurance Advisory Board is as follows: