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DUBLIN, July 21 (Reuters) - Ireland's Central Bank on
Wednesday called for the reform of the home and car insurance
renewal market, saying current policies can significantly
penalise those who remain with a particular provider while
giving lower prices to new customers.
The bank, which acts as the country's regulator for the
insurance sector, criticised the policies of charging customers
higher premiums relative to expected costs the longer they
remain with an insurance provider, a policy known as "price
walking."
"Our analysis shows that some of the practices identified
could result in unfair outcomes for some consumers in the
private car and home insurance markets," the bank said in a
report that looked at 11 providers and surveyed 5,500 consumers.
"As a consequence of these practices, the premiums paid by
certain policyholders deviate significantly from the expected
costs of the policy to the insurer," the report said.
The bank called for a ban on "price walking" in personal
motor and home insurance markets, new requirements for providers
to review their pricing policies and processes annually and new
consumer consent and disclosure rules.
(Reporting by Conor Humphries;
Editing by Bernadette Baum)
