Taoiseach Enda Kenny has urged chief executives from major insurance companies to reflect on the cover being offered to households in flood-affected areas at a specially-convened meeting in Government Buildings on Tuesday.
The Taoiseach and senior Ministers met the heads of five insurance companies for an hour and a half. It was described as “frank and very constructive”.
The five companies were Aviva, AIG, FBD, Allianz and RSA. Kevin Thompson, the chief executive of the representative body for the industry, Insurance Ireland, also attended the meeting.
A spokesman for Mr Kenny said he put two requests to the insurers. He asked the industry to look at the coverage being offered to homes and businesses in flood-affected areas in the context of the detailed plans drawn up by the Office for Public Works for flood defences. That includes defences that have already been successfully put in place in towns previously prone to flood damage.
He also asked for the industry view on demountable defences. These are non-permanent defences which are the only engineering solution possible in some towns. Otherwise, those towns built on the banks of rivers would be split in two permanently. Fermoy in Co Cork is an example.
Mr Kenny asked the companies to report back by the end of next week on the requests, through the Minister of State for the OPW Simon Harris. Minster for the Environment Alan Kelly and Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney also attended.
Representatives of the industry said after the meeting they realised how difficult the past two months had been for those affected by flooding. They emphasised the constructive approach the industry wished to take.
The industry has said that 86 per cent cover is in place where there are fixed defences, but the level of cover is 67 per cent in areas which have demountable flood defences.
Asked as to whether the imposition of an added levy on homeowner policies generally may be used to incentivise greater cover for flood victims by insurers, Labour leader Joan Burton sounded a cautious note and indicated that such a move could end up being counterproductive.
“What we don’t want to see is a general rise in everybody’s insurance premium but at the same time no absolute certainty that that would result in additional cover, or indeed in cover available at a fair price to people who may be at risk of flooding,” she said.
“It was a very robust discussion but more importantly there is a framework now to have a continuing engagement with the insurance industry to actually sort out the continuing problems.
“A number of Ministers present at the meeting had reports of people who’ve been insured all their lives finding it difficult to either get insurance at all, or finding that where they can get insurance the excess premiums are extremely high, in some cases almost prohibitive.”
Ms Burton said insurance firms have a “sense of responsibility” to long-term customers given that it is a “very profitable industry”.
As regards the possibility of relocating families and individuals whose homes are in unprotected areas, she said a precedent does exist for doing so, but did not elaborate on how widely such a policy would be implemented, simply saying that the decision must be made on an individual basis by homeowners following “expert advice” from the OPW and local authorities.
Responding to comments from the Social Democrats that her Dublin West Dáil seat may be under threat on the basis of local polling results, Ms Burton said she is “very confident” of her re-election prospects.
“In every election I face a battle . . . . all I can say is that I’m very confident, certainly from the response that I’ve been receiving over the last couple of years.”
