The issue of dual pricing in the insurance industry is to be debated in the Dáil today, with Sinn Féin bringing a bill to the House aimed at banning the practice whereby new customers of an insurer are offered cheaper premiums than existing ones, despite having similar risk profiles.
The Programme for Government includes a commitment to remove dual pricing from the insurance market but there are no specific recommendations on how and when that will be achieved. However, Mr Fleming added the Government will "definitely take on-board this legislation and that can be best done at committee stage in the Oireachtas but we are saying it does require much more work and it requires the detailed report from the Central Bank, which is coming out in a number of months' time".
Industry representative body Insurance Ireland accepted that the practice disadvantages a group of customers and said insurers are looking to address the issue. "You get differential pricing in broadband, in financial packages, mortgages and it is a way of encouraging consumers to try new products... once you start to introduce legislation in pricing then you can affect competition and that in the long run is not in there interest of the consumer," she added.