Motorists Still Reporting Rising Premiums But Prices Begin To Level Off

Car insurance premiums are finally about to stop rising says Coverinaclick.ie's Managing Director Jonathan Hehir

Some of the largest car insurers operating in Ireland have been reporting substantial 6 month profits for the first half of 2017. This has prompted questions as to why insurance premiums across all sectors have continued to rise with insurers seemingly in fine fiscal health? Coverinaclick.ie's Managing Director Jonathan Hehir has stated that this is in fact the first year that the majority of insurers have posted profits and this is largely due to the Setanta high court ruling; "Large sums of money were being held in reserve following the insurance companies high court victory and these have, in addition with the higher premiums that consumers have been facing, have allowed the insurers to post profits this year".

With insurers in good financial shape for the first time in a number of years many want to know when premiums can finally be expected to drop down to pre-Setanta levels? Figures from the consumer price index have revealed that auto insurance premiums have risen in the last three years on average by more than 70%. This has been attributed to a number of factors; Setanta going bust being one of the more obvious reasons. Another key reason is the recent claims culture which has become apparent in Ireland over the past number of years. Insurers have also been seemingly building reserves for the past number of years in case something along the same lines as the Setanta bust was to occur. The final occurrence that has been driving up premiums over the last number of years is soft tissue injury claims.

Soft tissue injuries occur when a degree of trauma occurs on the muscles, tendons or ligaments. Because of the nature of these injuries they can be incredibly difficult to either prove or disprove and also to measure the extent or necessary healing times. Due to these factors, making claims for soft tissue injuries can lead to a litany of problems for an insurance company. Coverinaclick.ie's Managing Director Jonathan Hehir has advocated that insurers deal with these cases using a "Care over cash approach" meaning that instead of settling these cases immediately and simply writing cheques in order to avoid high legal costs, they should be provided with physiotherapy and any relevant loss of earnings. This would ensure that any would be fraudsters will be deterred from attempting to exploit the current settlement scheme.

Jonathan Hehir also went on to add that while premiums have been rising exponentially over the last number of years, they have now begun to level off and over the next few months consumers should even begin to see slight decreases in premium levels.

Listen to the full excerpt from Jonathan Hehir's thorough discussion of the insurance industry below:

Source: Newstalk

Sky high premiums have been a problem for the last number of years, call Coverinaclick.ie today on 01 231 9310 and we'll do everything we can to get you the best price available for your car insurance quotes. Alternatively you can fill out a quick quote form. 

You can also read more about Insurers Urged To Reassess Young Drivers' Policies in our blog section.