Troy to push insurance firms to lower premiums

Getting insurance companies to lower their premiums is one of Deputy Robert Troy’s key objectives in his new role as Minister of State at the Department of Finance.

The Fianna Fail man’s junior ministry has special responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, Minister Troy said that there are a number of areas he wants to focus on as he gets to grip with new brief.

One of those is ensuring that insurance companies cut premiums. According to the most recent report by the Injuries Resolution Board (formerly the Personal Injuries Assessment Board), the total value of awards in 2023 was €105m lower than in 2019, while around €75m was saved in legal costs by claimants accepting awards that it had adjudicated on ahead of possible court proceedings.

Deputy Troy says that the savings must be passed on to consumers. “An incredible amount has been done, such as the reform of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, the introduction of the new injury guidelines and the introduction of perjury on the statute books, yet still, we’re not reaping the rewards of that.

“I think that’s something that I will be focusing on very early on, looking to meet the insurance companies just to see why it is they’re not passing on their savings.

“They’ve always said our rewards are out of kilter with other jurisdictions. They’re not any more. We just need to see why they’re not following through on their commitment [to bring premiums down] and how we can force them to do so.”

Minister Troy is also eager to look at how the range of services provided by credit unions can be expanded.

“Work has been taken place there by my immediate predecessors in terms of broadening the offering that the credit union sector can offer.

“They’re a trusted brand. I think they’re one of the most trusted brand in Ireland. People have faith and confidence in their credit union.

“They’re a critical component of our eco-chain and in our communities. They have large amounts of money on deposit. They want to be able to enter the mortgage market in a more meaningful way and certainly, I want to work with them and the central bank to enable that because they’re an important financial institution. I think there’s opportunity there to broaden the scope of their offerings.”

As part of his brief Minister Troy has responsibility for the Financial Services sector. He is also looking forward to working with Minister Peter Burke to attract companies in the sector to the Mullingar area.

“We’ll be working with Enterprise Ireland to support our own indigenous financial companies, and also working with the IDA to try to encourage businesses to locate here.

“The insurance company Ardonagh located in Mullingar, I did the announcement in October 2021. I don’t see any reason we can’t attract more business to locate in Mullingar and the midlands region.”

Deputy Troy’s return to the ministerial ranks is a vote of confidence in him from Taoiseach Micheál Martin, coming less than two and a half years after he resigned when it emerged that he had made errors in declaring his property interests.

“Micheál Martin had a lot to consider. A number of my colleagues are quite capable and deserving of positions too and, you know, geography, gender, are all considerations that come in. I knew it was going to be tough to get the call.

“When he rang me, he said that he was impressed with how I worked as a minister of state in the last government. That I achieved a lot in the two and a plus years that I was there in terms of bringing in legislation, reforming Personal Injuries Assessments Board, the new insolvency arrangement for small businesses etcetera and just wanted me to bring the same energy and vigour to this department.

“I had told Micheál that I would like to be considered again, based on the fact that the people of the constituency re-elected me and the Standards In Public Office (SIPO) report exonerated me.

“I never once denied that I did wrong. What was always under contention, was whether it was intentional. The report found that it wasn’t intentional, that I always acted in good faith.

“That’s where we were and thankfully, he’s appointed me.

“I took a decision at the time [to resign] because I felt I had to live up to a standard and I took that decision and I participated the inquiry.

The inquiry exonerated my position.

“Now I just want to move forward and focus on the job that I’ve been given in the Department of Finance.

“I’m very, very pleased with the appointment and it’s my intention to give it my all as I have in any role that I’ve been asked to do since I entered politics.”