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INSURANCE REFORM MUST be a top priority for the new government, the Dáil heard today.
A number of TDs spoke out today about how the insurance industry has treated small and medium businesses throughout the Covid-19 crisis.
Speaking about his new brief, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar said the July jobs stimulus package “will have to be radical and far-reaching”.
“We need to consider government investment in labour-intensive sectors in which we can get people back to work quickly,” he said.
Fianna Fáil’s Robert Troy said the insurance reform has to be top of the agenda for the government”, stating that the manner in which insurance companies have been dealing with their customers “is simply appalling”.
“We have a situation where businesses in the hospitality sector are having to go to the High Court to get what they are entitled to. FBD Insurance, for example, had previously written to business customers telling them they were covered for business interruption, but the company is now resisting all attempts to pay out on those policies. It is not good enough,” he said.
“Where is the Central Bank in all of this?
“It has issued letters and said what it would like to be done but where is it in terms of enforcement? It is not good enough that people who have paid excess premiums to have a policy in place are being forced into the courts system to get what they deserve,” said Troy.
Changes need to be seen by businesses early on in this government, said the Fianna Fáil TD.
On the issue of Covid insurance and businesses being worried about the lack of cover, Varadkar said he is not of the view that a business is liable for somebody contracting Covid on its premises “unless it was somehow responsible or grossly negligent”.
Concerns had previously been raised in the Dáil about businesses and hoteliers being concerned that they could be sued by staff members or customers who contract the virus.
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has confirmed that his officials will examine the issues around liability and insurability of claims made as a result of contracting Covid-19 while on a premises.
Labour’s Brendan Howlin previously said businesses will not be able to reopen after restrictions are lifted if they cannot avail of Covid-19 insurance.
“To my knowledge, nobody has every successfully sued a business or crèche because they or their kid got chickenpox or the flu on its premises. I do not see why that would apply to Covid but stranger things have happened in the courts with regard to compensation claim,” said Varadkar.
The Tánaiste also said there are some questions as to why construction activity is not revving up quicker.
“Even though construction activity has been back for six weeks and we are told that 80% of sites are now open, there are still 45,000 construction workers in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment. There is something not right there.
“I do not know what it is but we need to dig down into that and get people back on site. We also need to provide alternative construction employment for those who cannot return to sites for various reasons. Retrofitting would certainly be top of the list of such alternative jobs.”
In terms of bailouts for large companies in Ireland who have been impacted by the public health emergency, Varadkar said the State has not yet had to bail out any big companies.
However, he added: “If we get into that space, as other countries have done, in particular on continental Europe, for airlines or other big industries, then I think in such circumstances there should be social and environmental obligations.”
Varadkar also said that the possibility of a no-deal Brexit remains and further funding for businesses may be required in the months ahead.
He also told the Dáil that in the early days of the Covid crisis, the government was worried about food supply chains, but he said they have proven to be very robust.
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Did we not hear that with the last government? I wont hold my breath
@paul johnson: So by insurance reform it’s sabotaging the bill Pearse Doherty successfully brought into law, just because the industry came crying to Pascal Donohue?
Pathetic especially on the back of swing-gate.
@paul johnson: leo would make a great door to door salesman. Great at selling garbage but not much else.
Pearse Doherty’s bill was passed and signed by the president, FG would not enact it because of lobbying by the insurance cartel, corporates before people.
@paul johnson: Legal reform, insurance reform, banking reform the list goes on and nothing done. People vote for this and that is what makes it very disturbing.
@paul johnson: That was only 4 days ago. Your point?
Talk is cheap insurance is not.
Insurance itself is a symptom of the bigger issue which keeps getting United – liability laws in ireland are ridiculous and should be changed so that an injury caused by a person’s own clumsiness or stupidity is never considered the responsibility of the business owner. You trip or fall because you’re drunk, not looking where you’re going or in too much of a rush to take care to avoid obstacles etc, YOU pay your own hospital bills in their entirety. End of story.
@Patrick FitzGerald: keeps getting *ignored.
@Patrick FitzGerald: Will you stop peddling their lies, https://www.thejournal.ie/insurance-fraud-profits-4680884-Jun2019/
@Cormac Laffan: I’m not defending the industry at all. What I’m saying is that the law facilitated it by being far, far too generous to individuals in terms of getting someone else to pay for their own clumsiness. Take Maria Bailey for example – of the law was in any way sensible, there never would have been even the slightest *question* that she might have a case. Drunken accidents caused by one’s own clumsiness should never, ever, ever be considered the responsibility of anyone but one’s self under the law, and the fact that there’s even any ambiguity about this shows that the law is not fit for purpose. The definition of what qualifies as a business owner’s duty of care needs to be completely reimagined so that only accidents caused *directly* by a business’s actions can be regarded as their responsibility, with the vast majority of personal injuries which arise from carelessness, clumsiness or intoxication on the part of the customer being legally regarded as the customer’s responsibility to deal with and pay for, 100% and without exception.
Spill coffee on yourself and get burned? Your fault.
Slip and fall on a dance floor because you’re too drunk? Your fault.
Trip over an obvious obstruction such as a chair, bin, signpost or storage container because you weren’t bothering to watch where you were going? Your fault.
Slip and fall because you couldn’t be bothered to heed a “caution – wet floor” sign? Your fault.
Literally NONE of these kinds of cases should ever even make it into court. In any common sense society, these would all be unequivocally and unquestionably regarded as one’s own fault and one’s own responsibility, not the owner of the business one happened to injure themselves in. The key phrase here is “injure themselves”. If your mishap happened by your own hand, the bill to fix it should come out of your own wallet.
@Cormac Laffan: he’s not talking about insurance fraud here. He’s talking about people who are genuinely hurt because they slip next to a wet floor sign and then are awarded damages. This would be the victims own fault as they did not pay heed to the warnings. There does need to be some sort of self preservation law or something whereby if you get hurt due to your own negligence, or take part in a ‘risky’ activity where you could reasonably expect to take a knock (playgrounds for example), it’s your fault and not the business’/councils’ unless the business was clearly negligent. It’s an almost impossible balance to find though.
@Patrick FitzGerald: Totally correct but reform of Insurance sector is pointless without reform of legal sector.
@Bert Carolan: This is all a joke to maximise profits.
The mainstream media is dependent on insurance companies for ads, and will not raise the EU inquiry into the insurance industry.
@Patrick FitzGerald: always make sure your on the back of the cart before you fall off it.
@Cormac Laffan: it is a fact that insurance companies are milking it but you are not looking at the main problem. The issue is we have a lack of insurance companies in Ireland. If we had more we could challenge them on their high premiums or not paying out for covid etc. The main reason for this is that we area small economy and as such we need to make Ireland as attractive as possible to insurance companies. They are influenced by risk by nature and payouts feed into this. Ie. The legal system is at the core of the whole problem. Stop focusing on insurance companies profits. Sort the rest and there high premiums/profits will be sorted.
@Patrick FitzGerald: the legal industry is in cahoots with the insurance industry. They are quiet happy in their relationship with each other milking the public out of every penny they have.
@Cormac Laffan: it’s a plague on all their houses, bogus and exaggerated claims can’t be ignored.
@Patrick FitzGerald: That is why everyone or their carer should have their own “State” accident insurance. Could be the start of the inevitable long term move into universal income. All could add on extra for high risk activity. Would take a massive suffocating blanket off service providers, from creches forward. Of course if the providers or commercial premises owner contravenes H&S legislation, then they get fined or what ever.
So confused. The do realise they are in government yet talk like they are not? Like lads, your in charge. Stop talking about this, that and setting up more talking shops. How about actually yano legislation and doing something useful.
Ah hear we go the start of more verbal diarrhoea. What a pity he didn’t do anything about the insurance rip off when he had the chance. Instead turned a blind eye and kept them all well paid.
While insurance companies are bandits. Solicitor pushing clients for bs claims to line their pockets is a problem
So by insurance reform it’s sabotaging the bill Pearse Doherty successfully brought into law, just because the industry came crying to Pascal Donohue?
Pathetic especially on the back of swing-gate.
@Peter McGlynn: tottaly agree hide behind whatever they can
Maybe remove trading licences from Insurance companies, that might put a spark under the remaining ones. Government can introduce legislation to nationalise Anglo Irish Bank in one night, but they can’t sort out the insurance industry and their treatment of customers, though they have been threatening to reform the industry for years.
Verbal bucket shuffle
No mention of the work Pearse Doherty has been doing on this, and Brendan Howlin the only opposition TD mentioned, I may be a sceptic, but we’ll see how reporting goes on this new Dáil.
@Badger the witness: No mention of Pearse Doherty writing to Central Bank and Paschal Donohue (in March! Article:’Insurance companies’ refusal to pay out claims is ‘deeply cynical’ Irish Examiner)re same!
Plus no mention of long delay in Paschal Donohue signing Pearse Doherty’s Consumer Insurance Contract Bill as in Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019′!
@Nuala Mc Namara: The Indo had an article at end of May :’ Lobbying by insurers blamed for delay in commencing new law’
I missed the speech, was there any movie quotes or just the usual inaction?
Those who get genuinely hurt wont get paid. That’s their reform.
@Paul Power: The media love Varadkar. How much air time does he get?? And he does nothing for anyone below the upper class
@Whoswho: “upper class” ??
Since when did we have an upper class in Ireland? Who’s in it ?
@Hector Son: Since when didn’t we have one? You think that rich people/upper class is only in England? Haha.
@Whoswho: rich people and upper class are the same thing are they? Good to know
@Hector Son: Glad you’re learning. All you young FFG members all learn pretty quick
Ask the insurance companies how many tickets to sporting occasions were provided free to politicians ?
Claims and awards down, profits at record levels , insurance quotes going up.
How is the EU enquiry into the insurance industry?
https://ec.europa.eu/ireland/news/antitrust-commission-opens-investigation-into-Insurance-ireland-data-pooling-system_en
Reform from car/house from the bottom to the top we are being robbed left right and centre its out of hand the last 20/25 years
you pay a policy for years , then there comes a time when you need to draw down on the policy , but the conniving that goes on to try to prevent you from collecting on the policy is unbelievable, the small print that you have never been advised of and the banks have a lot to answer for selling these policies in the first place.
Well if Leo is on it. We can be sure that nothing or very little will change. He is good with words but not much else.
Look at the New Zealand ACC system. We all paid a tax of about 1% towards it. If you fell in a public place you would get treated in a private hospital, physio etc, 80% of your wages but no monetary gain. Brilliant system.
Did he quote lord of the rings or mean girls in his speech this week……maybe when talking about insurance cartels he can quote Michael Douglas in wall street… “greed is good” sums up the insurance industry to a tee…….but then he could be talking about utility companies, Irish water, banks, developers and politician’s with that quote too
Not insurance THE LEGISLATURE. They are responsible for crazy awards
Judges and solicitors lining their own pockets at our expense
Mr potato head has never made a tough decision that amounted to any kind of change in any office he’s held. I wouldn’t hold my breath here. More posturing and speeches that amount to little.
He just have heard some poor people were still getting reasonable quotes,
There is an absolute need for a state insurance fund to provide 3rd party, public liability insurance cover, given that it is a legal requirement, and the ceding of the trade to private enterprise & the claims process to the legal profession is a failed structure.
The economic burden on business & individuals imposed by the present system is no longer tolerable,& as it is almost entirely controlled by offshore financial monoliths, beyond state influence,it is clearly a case of do it “our selves’.
Let the state provide risk cover for basic risk cover to comply with the law,leave optional risk coverage to the open market,which business can recover on the basis of ticket premiums,etc.
Individual comprehensive cover is already optional, so 3rd party can be financed via fuel or road tax.
have your say