A smoker could pay anywhere from €6,000+ to €60,000+ than their non-smoking counterpart for life assurance according to figures released today by Royal London. Experts at the leading protection specialist say that many policyholders are unaware of the significant cost savings that can be made on their life insurance premiums if they have given up smoking – with non-smokers benefiting from a reduction in premiums of up to around 50%.

https://www.echolive.ie/business/arid-40217102.html

Electric vehicles (EVs) generally benefit from lower insurance costs and lower running costs, says Deirdre McCarthy, manager at Insuremycars.ie.

There are discounts available from certain providers and more insurers are looking at offering lower rates to EV drivers both in an effort to support a greener environment and because they view the drivers and potential purchasers of the EVs as “good risks”.

https://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/what-are-my-options-for-getting-insurance-for-an-electric-vehicle-40028997.html

According to figures released today by Royal London, non-smokers benefit from a reduction in life insurance premiums, meaning there’s significant money to be saved if you quit smoking.

Royal London said anyone who has successfully managed to quit since January 2020 or before could this year see their life insurance premiums reduced dramatically.

https://www.joe.ie/fitness-health/smokers-pay-e6000-e60000-life-insurance-non-smokers-714028

Loyalty doesn’t pay, is the view of Deirdre McCarthy, manager with Coverinaclick.ie.

If you have been with the same insurer for a good number of years and have paid the premiums charged up to now, then there is little incentive for them to offer you better value, she says. The onus is on the customer to shop around and push insurers to lower premiums by being ready to switch.

https://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/how-do-i-avoid-paying-more-for-my-motor-insurance-every-year-40000795.html

 This change is being introduced across a number of Laya policies, according to Dermot Goode of TotalHealthCover.ie.

He said this is similar to what is already in place with Vhi and Irish Life Health. Laya is now introducing co-payments, or set shortfalls, on a list of 13 restricted procedures which are mainly orthopedic (hip, knee and shoulder replacements) and some ophthalmic procedures (cataract removal).

https://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/is-it-true-my-insurer-is-introducing-shortfalls-on-some-procedures-39974206.html

Dermot Goode of TotalHealthCover.ie welcomes the news.

“The average family of two adults and two children, as members of VHI will, on 23 January, get a once-off bonus of €200. The more members you have on the policy, the higher the rebate you will receive. Also, the rebate is the same for all members irrespective of which plan you have. Admittedly, this is an unexpected development given the upward trend of rates generally in the market, but it is absolutely good news for all VHI members — and it couldn’t have come at a better time.”

https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/companies/arid-40193484.html

A new survey by insurance group CFM finds there is a landslide of support amongst the Irish public for a major overall in the way insurance compensation claims are assessed in our courts system, with eight-in-10 survey respondents favoring a marked reduction in the amounts awarded. 

Jonathan Hehir, Managing Director of CFM Group commented on the findings: “This survey gives weight to our calls, as the vast majority of people want to see changes. The crux of the matter is, the higher the cost of claims, the higher the premium the business or employer is charged.

https://www.echolive.ie/business/arid-40195257.html

Managing Director of CFM Group, Jonathan Hehir said, “This survey gives weight to our calls, as the vast majority of people want to see changes. The crux of the matter is, the higher the cost of claims, the higher the premium the business or employer is charged. For a long time now, we have been calling for a complete review of the Book of Quantum and while the Government plans to replace it with new guidelines on the “appropriate” level of personal injury awards, there is no specific commitment to reduce the award amounts.”

https://www.businessworld.ie/financial-news/8-in-10-of-Irish-public-want-to-see-compensation-pay-outs-slashed-574992.html

Health insurance expert Dermot Goode of TotalHealthCover.ie has a rule of thumb, which is that anyone who has not reviewed their cover in the last two years is likely paying over the odds. 

Think honestly about how long it has been since you reviewed, and how much you might have saved in that time, and set a few hours aside to do some research.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/healthandwellbeing/arid-40190406.html

Dermot Goode of totalhealthcover.ie said, while welcome and a nice surprise, VHI policy holders should not just stay to get the benefit of the rebate without doing their homework.

“This is not a discount. It’s not a reduction. It’s a once off bonus, and while welcome, people who have not shopped around could be missing out on five times the bonus in savings.”

https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2020/1209/1183291-consumers-urged-to-shop-around-for-health-insurance/