PearseDohertyleadspublic meetingoninsurancereform
SINN Féin TD Pearse Doherty was in Bray last Thursday night for a public meeting about insurance reform.
Deputy John Brady, along with Cllr Grace McManus and Cllr Dermot ‘Daisy’ O’Brien welcomed Deputy Doherty, who is the party spokesperson for finance. This is the latest in a series of campaign events that Deputy Doherty has held across the state in his bid to reform the insurance industry.
‘Insurance costs have become extortionate, ripping off consumers and closing down businesses,’ said Deputy Brady. ‘Since 2016, Fine Gael have sat back in the face of rising insurance costs while Fianna Fáil have let them off the hook.
‘ The insurance industry tells us that fraudulent claims and the cost of personal injury awards are causing premiums to rise. But through the work of Pearse Doherty we know that their figures don’t add up. Despite the total number of motor insurance claims reducing by 22 per cent between 2014 and 2017, the average motor insurance premium has increased by 53 per cent between 2013 and 2017.
‘Pearse Doherty is leading a campaign to take on the industry and end the rip-off. The policies and legislation that he has produced on behalf of Sinn Féin would stamp out fraud, protect consumers, ban price discrimination and reduce premiums for everyone.’
Cllr Grace McManus said that the meeting heard about Sinn Féin’s plan to set up a garda insurance fraud unit and to ban dual pricing by the insurance industry.
The meeting also heard about Sinn Féin’s Consumer Insurance Contracts Bill law which, if enacted, proposes to abolish Premium Levies and put €230 million back in consumers’ pockets while also introducing State Intervention to address the market failure.
‘ The issue of insurance is such a huge one and affects the lives of ordinary people and businesses alike throughout Wicklow, so therefore it’s important that we continue to campaign to end the Insurance Rip- Off,’ said Cllr Dermot ‘Daisy’ O’Brien.