Stormont asks about premiums

Northern Ireland’s Stormont government is to examine why insurance premiums are higher in Northern Ireland, the Belfast Telegraph reports.

Consumers in the province pay on average almost £280 more than in Britain for car, contents and building insurance. Northern Ireland is £160m worse off, according to the Consumer Council.

The Assembly’s finance committee has agreed to start an investigation. It is expected to involve the trade and investment committee and the justice committee. Justice Minister David Ford is being asked to take up the issue.

Staggering difference

Ulster Unionist MLA Roy Beggs Jr, who is a member of the separate public accounts committee, said: “We know that there is a staggering difference between the car insurance premiums for drivers here and those in other jurisdictions.

“We also know that there are those in Northern Ireland who now simply can’t afford to pay for insurance. But until we are prepared to tackle the issue at its roots, complaining about it is just a cop-out.”

The Consumer Council said the investigation must include the higher compensation pay-outs and legal fees in Northern Ireland as well as the practices of insurance companies and brokers.

Consumer Council

Joleen Cunningham, senior consumer affairs officer at the Consumer Council, told the finance committee: “Compensation levels are reviewed every six years by a committee of judges, barristers and solicitors. They are not actually set in stone. Rather, they are based on the norm.

“We believe that an Assembly-led committee or cross-departmental working group could look at whether the benefits of higher compensation levels here outweigh the detriment to consumers of higher insurance costs.