The Government has announced the creation of a Flood Insurance Working Group to help improve protections for households and businesses at risk of flooding.
The group will be chaired by former secretary general of the Department of Health Jim Breslin and will aim to bring together stakeholders including insurers, Government departments and agencies.
Its main focus will be to find measures to help improve access to insurance for those at risk of flooding, while also closing the so-called flood insurance protection gap – where the level of insurance available falls short of the financial impact of flooding.
The establishment of the group comes one year after the Government launched its Action Plan for Insurance Reform.
Announcing the working group, Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris said there had been “real progress across a broad programme of reforms that are helping to create a more competitive, transparent and sustainable insurance market.”
Robert Troy, Minister of State with responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance, said a number of other measures introduced by Government had already had an impact for businesses and consumers.
“Over the past year we have made significant progress, from delivering the Motor Insurance Transparency Code and the ‘Right to be Forgotten’ legislation to advancing reforms that will improve competition and the efficiency of claims resolution,” he said.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates our continued commitment to implementing the Action Plan and ensuring that the benefits of reform are reflected in better outcomes for consumers, businesses and community organisations across Ireland.”
