Irish drivers to benefit from greater insurance premium transparency

Eva Osborne

New rules will require motor insurers to provide greater transparency on premium prices.

A new insurance transparency code will mean insurers must provide a premium summary statement at quotation and renewal, setting out last year’s premium, the new premium, the difference, and the key factors influencing pricing.

It will also include an annual market overview statement, providing consumers with accessible explanations of broader market conditions affecting premiums, including profit, broker commission, and legal costs.

Implementation of the code is currently progressing on a phased basis, the Government said. It claims the move will benefit 2.2 million car insurance policyholders.

It is expected that policyholders will begin to see these additional insights in quotations and renewals documents from the third quarter of 2026.

Describing the new code as "among the first of its kind in Europe", Minister of State for Insurance, Robert Troy, said it will allow for better understanding and consumer choice when it comes to motor insurance.

"The Department of Finance and Central Bank of Ireland will continue engagement with industry, via the working group, to monitor the implementation of the Code, in advance of the planned review.”

Insurance Ireland, the representative body for insurance companies in Ireland, said it welcomed and supported the code's adoption across the market.

"Insurance Ireland and its members have engaged proactively in its development and will continue to work to support awareness and implementation in the months ahead.”