Press Release – Brokers Ireland Call for All Party Support for Bill Curbing Differential Pricing

16th February 2021 

Brokers Ireland today urged all parties to support a bill being debated in the Dáil tomorrow (Wednesday 17th February 2021), the Insurance (Restriction on Differential Pricing and Profiling) Bill 2021.

The Bill, introduced by Sinn Féin, is intended to address pricing models in the home and motor insurance markets that currently see consumers, often older people and those with a lesser propensity to switch, being charged higher prices than others with a similar risk profile.

Cathie Shannon, Director of General Insurance at Brokers Ireland, which represents 1,225 Broker firms, said: “Most reasonable people would see it as being unfair to use data analytics to ferret out opportunities to charge people more because they are unlikely to challenge the higher price being quoted.  All consumers deserve to be treated fairly when purchasing insurance,” she said.

“The current Programme for Government commits to ’working to remove dual pricing from the market’, so there is clearly strong political will to end the practice“.

Ms Shannon said the recent Interim Report from the Central Bank of Ireland on the issue showed very clear evidence in the data collected that consumers are being punished by insurance companies for their loyalty. “The report found that on average, the longer a customer stays with an insurer, the higher the amount they pay in excess of that required to cover the expected cost of the policy.”

The practice of charging different premiums for new and renewal business is due to be banned in the UK later this year.  Ms Shannon said:  “It is absolutely essential that consumers and businesses should be treated fairly and in a transparent manner, and not be harmed as a result of pricing models adopted by insurers. Motor and home insurances are not luxury products.”

 Ends

Further information:  Cathie Shannon, Director of General Insurance, Brokers Ireland