LUCKY BREAK FOR HIGH INSURANCE COSTS CAMPAIGNER

BUT KILLORGLIN DRIVER WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT HIGH PREMUIMS

A YOUNG Killorglin man who has persistently campaigned against sky-high insurance premiums found himself on the right side of irony this week as he won a year’s free car insurance.

Kian Griffin (26) began to speak out against insurance costs in recent years after a high number of visitors to his website for car enthusiasts, Ireland-underground.com, made complaints about how much they were paying for insurance. Since then, Mr Griffin has campaigned vociferously for less expensive cover, arranging protests on the issue and even addressing the Oireachtas Finance Committee last autumn.

In June, he entered a competition run by car rental app Fleet in the hope of winning a year’s free cover from AXA. Last week, Kian was announced as the prize winner on Facebook, but he told The Kerryman that the ironic stroke of good fortune will not distract him from his campaign.

“You just couldn’t make it up,” he said. “People have been ribbing me ever since I was announced as the winner. They were joking at me, saying things like ‘ah, they’ll quieten you now’. But no, in all seriousness, this isn’t going to stop me!”

Mr Griffin changed his 2001 Audi A4 recently for a 2008 car, saving him some €200 on insurance costs. His most recent cover cost around €750, but he had to pay €967 for car insurance in 2016.

“I’m not sure yet what period exactly this win will cover or how much money it will save me,” he said. “But I paid €750 for my latest insurance cover, so I’d be thinking it would be somewhere around that figure.”

Ireland-underground reaches some 50,000 people every month through its website as well as its Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram accounts. Its most recent blog post argued in favour of introducing a form of a universal no fault personal injuries insurance system, similar to what is used in New Zealand.

Photo Domnick Walsh Kian Griffin, who has campaigned extensively against rising car insurance costs, has won a year’s free insurance in a competition .