PRESS RELEASE
29th June 2023
Change in the duty of care marks a significant rebalancing of the duties owed to visitors by occupiers and ensures a fairer allocation of personal responsibility across society.
- The Alliance calls for the immediate commencement of this section of the legislation so that hard-pressed policy holders can begin to see the benefits intended by it.
- Minister Carroll McNeill needs to make good on her promise of savings for policy holders.
The Alliance for Insurance Reform welcomes the passage of The Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022 through the Houses of the Oireachtas last night. This legislation includes a significant reform of the duty of care which, if commenced quickly and implemented fairly, rebalances duties owed to visitors by occupiers and ensures a fairer allocation of personal responsibility across society. We expect the new rules regarding the voluntary assumption of risk to afford protection to a whole swathe of activities where risks are willingly accepted by people well able to comprehend the nature and extent of those risks.
Flora Crowe, Alliance Board member and grocery stores owner has called for “the immediate commencement of this aspect of the legislation so that hard-pressed policy holders can begin to see the benefits intended by it”.
Having previously highlighted the number of personal injury claims in Ireland, average personal injury awards and insurance fraud as barriers to lower premiums, insurers have in recent times highlighted the need for these amendments to the duty of care as a condition for lower premiums. “Now that this legislation has completed its progress through the Oireachtas, we expect incumbent insurers to deliver lower premiums immediately as the risk associated with every new or renewed policy has just reduced significantly” Flora said.
Recently* asked when policy holders could expect to see savings arising from this change in the legislation, Minister Carroll McNeill was unequivocal:
“When that legislation goes through during the summer, I will be picking up the phone and inviting the CEOs in here to have that very direct conversation with them again. Because the legislation will be passed then, [and] there is literally no excuse after that.”
We call on the Minister to make good on this promise without delay.
*RTE Primetime, 11th May 2023 – Insurance costs crippling adventure tourism, say centre owners (rte.ie)
For further information contact: Brian Hanley, CEO, Alliance for Insurance Reform at brian@insurancereform.ie or 086 862 0974