Law Society “astonished” by huge pre-tax profits of insurance company amid spiralling premiums
The Law Society has expressed its surprise at huge profits and dividends within the insurance sector.
Director General of the Law Society of Ireland Ken Murphy said, 鈥淚t is astonishing to see insurance company, FBD Holdings, posting huge pre-tax profits in the current climate of spiralling insurance costs. FBD said yesterday it planned to more than double its dividend to its shareholders releasing tens of millions in unused claims reserves. Yet at the same time, the insurance industry is calling for injury victims鈥 claims to be reduced.鈥
鈥淚nsurance companies are making enormous profits while Irish businesses, by FBD鈥檚 own admission, are struggling to pay the huge premiums insurance companies are setting and in some cases cannot get insured at all. How can this be the case?鈥
鈥淔BD, and the insurance industry as a whole, have a lot of questions to answer.鈥
鈥淭he Law Society has continuously warned that simply reducing the compensation awards paid to victims of injury will only serve to boost the earnings of already hugely profitable insurance companies. I think today鈥檚 results and comments from FBD are clear evidence of that fact.鈥
鈥淭he bottom line is that there is absolutely no evidence that reducing damages will result in lower premiums. The effect of reducing damages will merely be to take from the pockets of injured victims of negligence in order to line the pockets of an increasingly profitable insurance industry.鈥