Rose Conway-Walsh: Calls to End Dual Pricing in Insurance
Rose Conway-Walsh criticised current insurance industry practices and urged lawmakers to end dual pricing and demand transparency. She said the bill before the House is an opportunity for Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party to stand up for drivers and homeowners.
Main argument
Rose Conway-Walsh argued that the insurance industry extracts excessive payments from policyholders through opaque practices, and that preventing policyholders from being robbed should be a legal requirement. She described governments as having been spectators rather than legislators in the face of industry pressure.
Appeal to political parties
She called directly on Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party to use the bill to stand up to vested interests, urging colleagues to leave party politics behind for the day and prioritise constituents. The bill was framed as a test of whether those parties will confront the insurance industry.
Impact on constituents
Conway-Walsh highlighted the effect on drivers and homeowners, especially elderly and marginalised people who lack the time, broadband or technical know-how to shop around. She said many constituents are being fleeced by price gouging and dual pricing practices.
Evidence and reform demands
She praised the work of her Sinn Féin colleague Piers Daugherty in challenging the insurance industry and recalled campaigners such as Dorothy Dowling, who sought access to raw data while Conway-Walsh was on the Finance Committee. She emphasised the need to wrestle raw data from those protecting the system and to demand transparency and fairness.
Position on the bill
Rose Conway-Walsh described the bill as another step by Sinn Féin towards fundamental reform of the insurance industry and urged lawmakers to abandon dual pricing now. She called for concrete measures to end the rip-off and restore fairness for policyholders.
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I want to thank my Sinn Fein colleague Piers Daugherty for the painstaking work that he has done in taking on the insurance industry. He has done this in a hostile environment where those who fiercely defend the status quo which allows insurance industry to dictate how much and how often they demand money from policyholders. Unfortunately this has been facilitated by compliant governments who have adopted the role as spectator rather than legislator. Insurance is a legal requirement. Preventing policyholders from being robbed should also be a legal requirement. Today this bill provides the opportunity for Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party and others to stand up to the vested interests in the insurance industry. It is time to make a stand for drivers and for homeowners who are being fleeced by price gouging. Many of these are your elderly constituents. Many of them are already marginalised because they do not have the technological know-how, the time or the broadband connectivity to shop around. They are depending on us to stand up for them by demanding transparency and fairness in the insurance industry. They are depending on us to end the rip-off. They are depending on us to wrestle the raw data from those who have fought so hard to protect the system that enables insatiable greed to run rife. When I say that I remember Dorothy Dowling who, when I was on the Finance Committee, fought so hard to get this raw data. Dual pricing is just one of the practices that allows this greed to use policyholders information to extract maximum amount of money from hard pressed individuals and families. Yes, a fundamental reform of the insurance industry is long overdue. This bill is another step by Sinn Féin in the right direction. Leave the party politics behind, just for today, and put our constituents first. It is time to abandon dual pricing. Go raibh maith god.
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