Motor insurance consumers are set to benefit from new transparency rules which have come into effect today.

Brokers and insurers will now be required to provide more information to people renewing their motor insurance policies.

The measures, being implemented by the Central Bank, are designed to help customers make a more informed decision when purchasing insurance.

Insurers must now provide policyholders with details of the premium paid for private motor insurance renewals in the previous year. This information must feature prominently on the same page as the renewal premium.

The Central Bank also requires all motor insurers to provide a quotation for each policy option available to the customer such as comprehensive, third party fire and theft cover, or third party only.

In addition, insurers must also extend the renewal notification period from 15 to 20 working days for motor, health, damage to property and general liability insurance, to allow policyholders more time to seek comparison quotes.

Gráinne McEvoy, director of consumer protection at the Central Bank, said: “These new rules will help consumers make better informed decisions when shopping around for their insurance policies.

Motor insurance in particular can represent a significant outlay for many people, so these changes will help people to shop around and make informed choices.”

The Alliance for Insurance Reform welcomed the reforms, however it also expressed is disappointment at the slow pace of change.

Peter Boland, director of the Alliance, said: “The Irish insurance market is notoriously secretive, with little or no useful data publicly available for policyholders or policymakers. In this context, we welcome these new regulations.”

“The insurance industry fought tooth and nail to avoid providing this basic information and only cooperated after nearly three years when the CBI resorted to legislation. If more substantial transparency reforms move at this pace it will be our children’s’ children, not us, who benefit from them,” he said.

Online Editors