The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed its latest and 41st member organisation, The National Campaign for the Arts.
The National Campaign for the Arts is a volunteer-led, grassroots movement that makes the case for the arts in Ireland, an artistic and cultural community comprised of over 55,000 people. They work to ensure that the arts are on local and national government agendas and are recognised as a vital part of contemporary Irish life.
Angela Dorgan, Chair of the Nation Campaign for the Arts Steering Committee said “Inadequate, inaccessible and unsustainably expensive insurance-product is a significant issue for artists, arts workers and arts organisations. In recent years, the situation has become unworkable with many organisations unable to purchase suitable insurance to cover the full scope of their activities at an affordable price, or at all. NCFA is proud to become a member of the Alliance for Insurance Reform and looks forward to working with them to deliver meaningful insurance reform in Ireland.”
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “With so many challenges being posed by the current pandemic, insurance should not be on the agenda for our artists, art workers or arts organisations. We call on the Government to urgently accelerate the pace of insurance reform so that our creative and cultural sectors can focus on recovering from the impact of Covid-19 and delivering an artistic response that will significantly contribute to the recovery of Irish society as a whole.”
”In particular, we ask that they prioritise the following real reforms:
1. Reduce unfair general damages to reflect international norms and the principles already established by the higher courts – including that ‘minor injuries attract modest damages’
2. Review and re-balance the “common duty of care” to require occupiers to take a duty of care that is reasonable, practical and proportionate
3. Support a fully-resourced Garda Insurance Fraud Unit
4. Reform and strengthen PIAB
5. Insist on insurers committing to a schedule of forecast reductions for planned reforms”
The Alliance now brings together 41 civic and business organisations from across Ireland, representing over 55,000 members, 700,000 employees, 599,000 volunteers and 374,000 students in highlighting the negative impact of persistently high premiums and calling for real reforms that will quickly reduce liability and motor insurance premiums to affordable levels and keep them that way.
