PRESS RELEASE - 22/JANUARY/2002 "Veil continues to slip on Motor Insurance Industry" "The MIAB report which has been widely reported in the media further exposes the extent to which Irish motorists are being ripped off for motor insurance. It is now clear that the accident rate in this country is not the main reason why premiums are high as the insurance industry would have us believe, but rather the huge costs of administering the system" said Mick Murphy, the National Organiser of MIJAG, the Motor Insurance Justice Action Group. "Unfortunately there is nothing particularly new contained in this report that has not been in the public domain for some time. The fact that legal and other fees represent 42% of the costs as compared with 10% in most European countries and 2% in Sweden was in the last report commissioned by the Government. Social Insurance funds are used to pay loss of earning compensation to accident victims throughout Europe, whereas here Charlie McCreevy uses the fund to top up the budget. The Government have been in possession of the facts but have failed to take any meaningful action whatsoever. It is clear that there are huge vested interests involved in keeping the €1.2 billion Motor Insurance fund high and the Government must continue to be put under pressure to act before the Election" Mr. Murphy added. "The timing of this report is ideal for the coming election promises season. MIJAG will not be accepting promises for reform of the system and we are preparing to run David Green as a candidate in Dublin Mid-West in the next election by way of keeping the pressure on. Local meetings will also be held around the country with politicians on the run up to the general election" Mr Murphy said. Footnote:- David Green lost the first young driver discrimination test case taken under the Equal Status Bill. MIJAG is considering an appeal to the Circuit Court. David is 21 and works in IBM. He paid IR£4,017 for his first insurance. His renewal after one year of accident free driving was IR£4,070. He is now well into his second year of accident free driving and has passed his driving test. His insurance came down to €4,430 once he passed his driving test. A general meeting of the campaign will take place at 8pm on Wednesday January 30th in the Abberley Court Hotel in Tallaght to decide if the campaign has the resources needed to go ahead with the electoral challenge and to vote to select David Green if everything is in order. Back to Press Release Index