Small businesses don’t need further insurance costs – Nelson Murray

The rejection of a Judicial Council recommendation to increase personal injury awards is a good decision for hard working small businesses and employers, a Fine Gael Senator has said.

Senator Linda Nelson Murray said the proposal, sent to the Justice Minister recently, if implemented would only have resulted in insurance premiums going one way – up.

She welcomed its rejection today as any application of the recommendation would have crippled small businesses and employers.

She was speaking after Tánaiste Simon Harris chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Insurance Reform where it was decided a proposed 16.7% increase in personal injury awards would not go ahead in light of the onerous costs that such an increase would place on businesses.

This would have resulted in the lowest award of €500 going to €585 and the highest, for the most severe injuries, going from €550,000 to €642,000.

“I, along with my Fine Gael colleagues, have repeatedly called on Minister O’Callaghan to reject the proposal from the Judicial Council,” Senator Nelson Murray said.

“Fine Gael’s priority is to reduce the cost of doing business, not increase it. The Government hosted a Competitiveness Summit on Monday. One of the key recommendations from the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council was to reconsider this proposed increase.

“Businesses are faced with an array of increased costs and we simply cannot add more fuel to the fire by doing something that will drive premiums up.

“I fully support anyone who has suffered a severe injury being fully compensated and taken care of, but we need to examine the lower end of the market – the smaller claims.

“As it stands, there are still so many groups and businesses that still either cannot get insurance or cannot get insurance at a fair price. I have first-hand experience of the stress of trying to source insurance like so many other businesses have,” she said.

Senator Nelson Murray runs a family business, Huckleberry’s Den in Navan, Co Meath. Five years ago, she was two weeks from closing when she couldn’t get insurance for the play and activity centre.

“In our Programme for Government, the Government committed to further action to drive down insurance costs that impact households, motorists, and businesses. This is our first test.

“As I mentioned previously, I am one of those people who has been impacted. I absolutely know what is going on.

“Over the past few years, we have witnessed an excellent programme of insurance reform delivered by the previous Government. This has reduced both the volume of Personal Injury Claims and the levels of compensation awarded. It is incumbent on the insurance companies to now pass on the benefits of these reforms to businesses and consumers.”