Insurance price hikes ‘putting working families off the road’

‘EXTORTIONATE’ hikes in insurance prices are putting working families off the road, a local councillor has warned.

At the monthly meeting of the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council (FODC) on Monday, Cllr Stephen McCann told the chamber the price of his daughter’s insurance premium was likely to be £4,000 this year.

Cllr McCann proposed that the council should write to the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) about holding ‘extortionate’ insurance companies to account.

He said, “We’ve all been out and about these last few weeks and in my own area the talk of insurance prices has come up time and time again, especially with young working class families. Not just car insurance, but house insurance too.

“In terms of car insurance I think this is a huge issue we can’t just let slip away. My daughter is turning 18 shortly and her initial premiums are coming in at £4,000. Bearing in mind the minimum wage of young people is around £6.40, it would take my daughter 32 weeks to pay just that insurance.

“Can I propose that we write to the CMA to come in for an informal meeting about the work they are doing? I would argue very strongly that the premiums that we’re seeing are unfair to working families, young people and it is putting people off the road.

“We need to hear about what are they doing to hold insurance companies to account in terms of the extortionate prices they are charging.”

The Trillick councillor added, “I also propose we contact the chair of the Finance Committee and seek if they can commence a committee inquiry around extortionate insurance premiums to see if they can forward this any further.”