The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed the announcement by the Department of Finance of a common approach by insurers to two of the key insurance-related issues affecting policyholders during the COVID-19 crisis.
The approach was announced in a press release this afternoon by Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe and the Minister of State with Responsibility for Insurance Michael D’Arcy and applies to the insurers that underwrite the majority of Ireland’s liability insurance market.
Speaking as the measures were announced, Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “We welcome this initial response by the insurance industry to the crisis policyholders are facing right now. Needless to say we will need to see how the broad statement with regard to forbearance manifests itself on the ground, ideally in terms of policy extensions or refunds. We would ask the individual insurers to confirm the level of reductions they propose and the timings of those reductions. Because of the nature of this crisis, we need clarity and a sense of real urgency applied to everything to do with insurance so that it can be a help, not a hindrance.
“We would ask freedom-of-service insurers selling cover into Ireland from abroad, as well as Aviva here in Ireland, to adopt the same customer-focused approach. Equally, we want to see the same approach applied to motorists and to policyholders with valid business interruption claims.”
“Finally, we would encourage the Ministers and everyone else involved in steering Ireland’s recovery from COVID-19 to prioritise real insurance reform so that SMEs and voluntary organisations can play their part in that recovery.”
ENDS
For further details contact:
Peter Boland
ALLIANCE FOR INSURANCE REFORM
TEL: 086 826 6036
WEB: insurancereform.ie
FB: /insurancereformireland
TW: @InsuranceRefIre