Insurance yields €65m to Exchequer

The Government raised €65 million from the insurance policies taken out in the State last year, the Oireachtas committee investigating the high cost of cover heard yesterday.

Small Firms' Association (SFA) chairman Mr Kieran Crowley told the committee on enterprise and small business that the 2 per cent insurance levy imposed on all policies was worth €65 million to the Exchequer last year.

After the hearing, SFA director Mr Pat Delaney said the organisation wanted the tax capped or abandoned altogether.

"The situation is that if your insurance policy doubles, then the Government's take from that also doubles," he said. "If there is a tax on insurance policies, then it should be capped."

Mr Crowley told the committee that research by his organisation established that high insurance premiums cost member companies 2,060 jobs this year.

In a separate submission, Construction Industry Federation (CIF) director Mr George Hennessy read out sample comments that the organisation received in a survey of members.

One company paid €6,600 for combined employers' and public liability in 2000. By this year, the unnamed business was quoted €27,000. It told the CIF that it would have to lay off two of its four workers and only quote for "small jobs".

Most CIF members expressed concern at the lack of competition in the insurance sector and the fact that few underwriters were prepared to give quotes to building companies.