MIJAG - Motor Insurance Justice Action Group

The Average Insurance Premiums paid by young drivers who have their own policy is £2,311. Some are paying over £4,000. The average for all drivers is £480. Young drivers pay five times as much even though according to the Insurance Federation, they represent less than twice the risk. End this rip off. Come to the local meetings and car protest.

The Cork Campaign had an excellent protest on October 14th. There was huge local interest and support. The next meeting of the Cork campaign is Wednesday November 8th at 8pm in Jury's. There will be a protest outside the PMPA offices on Oliver Plunket Street at 1pm on Thursday November 16th. People are being asked to bring their own placards saying how much they are quoted and the size of the car.

The next car cruise in Cork will be Saturday December 9th at 2pm from the Lee Fields.

Political Pressure :- All ten TDs in the Cork area turned up to a public meeting organised by MIJAG in June. The big crowd of young drivers that turned up left the TDs with no doubt as to the seriousness of this issue. This followed a similar meeting in Dublin in April. Since then Fine Gael have come out with a document on Road Safety which included a promise of £300 for each young driver towards their insurance.

With an election around the corner, the main Political Parties will no doubt try to out bid each other with promises, but we must keep the pressure on the TDs to take some real action on this. MIJAG says either regulate the Insurance Industry or the Government should run its own Insurance Scheme for young drivers. Call you local TD at the Dail on 6183333 and ask what they are doing about this.

Street Protest :- Both the Dublin and Cork Campaigns are holding Car Protests in October. The Dublin Protest in May was a big success. The Campaign intends maintaining a high public profile until this issue is resolved for once and for all.

Legal Action :- The Equal Status Bill 2000 which is due to come into affect from early October this year has a provision for making a complaint against any organisation which discriminates in the provision of services. If the data that the insurance industry claim to be using to prove their case is shown to be flawed then it would open up a situation where huge numbers of drivers would be entitled to compensation.

MIJAG will be encouraging all young drivers to make a complaint to the Director of Equality Investigations under this new act. The Campaign will post up the procedures to be followed on the web site as soon as the Minister signs the Commencement Order. MIJAG is confident it can prove that the Insurance Industry does not have reliable actuarial data to back up their discrimination towards young drivers.