The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed the publication of the Department of Justice’s Justice Plan 2022 including timelines for a number of key reforms relevant to the Irish insurance market. In particular, the Plan undertakes to:
- “Publish amendment to the Occupiers’ Liability Act in regard to the actions required of an occupier to meet the common duty of care, and in relation to the voluntary assumption of risk by visitors”
- “Publish, subject to legal assessment, economic research on models to reduce legal costs”
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “We note that while the Action regarding duty of care in the Report itself is not as detailed as we might have hoped for, the accompanying press release states that the Minister for Justice will “Continue to tackle the cost of insurance by bringing forward new legislation on the duty of care as part of the Civil Law Miscellaneous Provisions Bill, due to be published in the coming weeks.” We welcome the timeline suggested in this statement and urge the Minister to ensure the enactment of the legislation does not slip beyond 2022.
“Additionally, we note a potential 6-month delay between the completion of economic research on models to reduce legal costs and the publication of that research. Again, we urge the Minister to ensure it is published this year.
“Finally, we welcome mentions of mediation and the fraud database in the Plan and await the outcomes of this work.
“Insurance premiums for SMEs, voluntary and community groups, sports and cultural organisations and charities continue to spiral, with many organisations now struggling to get cover at all. Our ongoing policyholder survey measures the increase in average liability renewals at +16%, on top of unsustainable increases in previous years. So the work of the Minister and Department of Justice on key reforms is critical in delivering affordable insurance premiums as a matter of urgency.”
ENDS