Irish hauliers welcome insurance investigation
PRESIDENT of the Irish Road Hauliers Association, Wexford woman Verona Murphy has said Irish haulage companies will benefit from a European Commission investigation into allegations of anti-competitive practices in the insurance market in Ireland.
Wright Insurance Brokers in Wexford were one of at least four insurance brokerages in Ireland which were raided by European Commission officials on Tuesday concerning allegations of anti-competitive practices in the market for insuring trucks and lorries.
Among the other companies raided were the Dublin offices of global insurance brokers Marsh and Aon as well as the headquarters of Campion Insurance in Dublin 22.
The companies were raided by officials from Brussels and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) in Ireland, who took material from their offices.
Campion and Wright both confirmed they are co-operating with the investigation.
In a statement Wrights Insurance said: Wright Insurance Brokers is one of a number of companies currently facilitating the European Commission and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission in their ongoing market investigation into competition in Ireland.
‘The investigation is focussed on ensuring that the market for insurance operates in an open and competitive manner in Ireland.
‘We believe that our Group has had a significant positive influence on insurance competition over the last number of years through the introduction of a number of new insurance carriers to the Irish market. We welcome the investigation and are fully co-operating with the Commission.
‘The Commission have finished their initial investigation at our office but are unlikely to issue their findings for a number of months, however, we do not anticipate any negative findings, sanctions or fines. We expect a positive outcome for Wright Insurance Brokers.
A spokesman for the European Commission made it clear that the inspections do not mean that the companies are guilty of anti-competitive behaviour.
Ms Murphy said: ‘We have to await the outcome as this is a very sensitive investigation and we don’t want to do anything to harm it. We will have a lot to say once the investigation is concluded.’
Ms Murphy, who runs her own haulage business in Ramsgrange, said many haulage companies are facing insurance bills of between €100,000 and €200,000, double what they had to pay last year.
‘The insurance issue has gotten worse over the last three weeks; I have never experienced anything like it. Some businesses can’t suffer these increases. They are given 30 days to decide. These companies have employees and families. My job has almost become like a counselling service. I have to advise people very seriously as once they pay the money they can’t recoup it. I do believe that the investigation will yield some benefit. It has to run its course and none of us know how long that will take.’
Ms Murphy highlighted to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and the then Taoiseach late last year how locally registered and insured trucks, which spend most of their time in continental Europe, face much higher coverage costs than elsewhere in the EU.
She told the committee in September that her members had experienced premium hikes of up to 100 per cent in the space of a year, leaving the average cost of covering a truck at €5,000, compared to €3,000 in the UK and €2,000 in Poland.
Separately, the European Commission raided the offices of Insurance Ireland on Tuesday as it assesses concerns over access to two databases used by insurers in the Republic.