Dublin, Ireland, April 23 — The Irish Association of Small and Medium Enterprises issued the following press release:
In response to the publication of Alliance for Insurance Reform insurance survey, showing that the future of 42% of organizations is threatened by insurance premiums, ISME calls for immediate government action to reform the sector urgently and adequately, and to seriously consider the behavior of insurance companies. 90% of survey respondents said the government was not doing enough to remedy the situation.
“One year after the introduction of Judicial Guidelines (https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fjudicialcouncil.ie%2fassets%2fuploads%2fdocuments%2fPersonal%2520Injuries%2520Guidelines.pdf&c=E ,1,2OJmLQhLTlkUREtazkI4DrYRrRlN4tL2YYqzqbFUiLstvLBSr54kmS1g9QcuUDpAFh4J8ObOL1uLsULr-8XsgNpQMVsdqMdYZOwOKW8RACdlcw,,&typo=1) for bodily injury, resulting in lower compensation in court, rather than the Neil McDonnel, CEO, ISME. “Employer’s liability and liability insurance continues to rise, which is a major source of concern for SMEs and for all businesses. Insurance companies are making exorbitant profits at the expense of businesses. followed by more than 16%. The position is indefensible.”
“ISME has long made it clear that a small reduction in indemnities will not be enough to meet insurance costs. Damage to a small business is not suffered when an indemnity is awarded by a court or by the PIAB, but immediately follows the notification of a possible claim to an insurer,” he said.
According to the ISME, if Ireland is to have a functioning and affordable insurance market, it needs to dramatically accelerate the pace of reform, especially in the areas of amending the Occupier’s Liability Act, Libel Act and court costs. However, there is not really any tangible action in Ireland to deal with the situation.
None of these issues are new, and the causal factors for our high insurance costs have been clearly identified in more than a decade of reports from the European Commissionthe IMFthe OECDand speak European court of human rights.
Many of the reforms identified in the Justice 2022 Action Plan were to be completed in 2021. We think it is fair to ask, who benefits from this icy pace of reform?
It is well known that the small and medium enterprise sector is the cornerstone of the economy in Ireland and by far the largest employer. The sector expects and watches for urgent delivery of results and real reform.
