Insurance companies will soon have full access to details of serious offences which have incurred penalty points for the first time, following a decision by Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar.
The new measure will give insurance companies reliable and up-to-date information from the National Vehicle Driver File (NVDF) on serious offences which have incurred penalty points. Insurance companies already have access to the NVDF to verify the number of penalty points incurred by individual drivers, but will now be able to determine whether an offence involved drink driving, speeding, using a mobile phone, or any of the 13 specific categories of serious offence.
The Department has reserved the right to reconsider this measure if insurance companies do not adequately reward safe drivers.
"This is about road safety, and rewarding motorists for safe behaviour. Last year was the safest on record on Irish roads, but it’s vital that we don’t let the good work go to waste. That’s why we have to keep our focus on developing new measures and new policies to keep a solid focus on road safety, and to save lives. This measure is about road safety, and rewarding motorists for safe behaviour. Later this year we will launch the new Road Safety Strategy as part of a major EU conference which will contain further measures, and which aims to make Ireland one of the best countries in the EU for road safety," Minister Varadkar said.
The measure was included in the Road Traffic Act 2010 and passed into law when Minister Varadkar signed a Statutory Instrument late last year. By providing details of points incurred for serious offences, it has the potential to lead to lower insurance premiums for safer drivers.
There are currently 2.67 million licenced drivers in Ireland of whom 487, 000 have penalty points applied to their licence records. Some 80% of these drivers have fewer than four points .
In 2012, some 200,500 penalty point notices were issued to 179, 000 drivers. So far this year, 5,015 penalty point notices have already been issued to 4,971 drivers.
As things stand, insurance companies apply for a loading on an insurance policy according to the number of penalty points, rather than the nature of the offence. In future, insurance companies will be able to take serious offences into account when applying this loading.
The National Vehicle Driver File section of the Department of Transport has been working closely with the Irish Insurance Federation (IIF) to implement this measure. The IIF assisted with the cost of a new electronic platform which will allow insurance companies to obtain the necessary information. The new system will be implemented across the motor insurance sector on a phased basis over the next few months.
Note for Editors
The Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport has reached agreement with the IIF and the Data Protection Commissioner to provide specific information on the following penalty point offences:
Drink driving
Speeding
Holding a mobile phone while driving
Driver found to be driving carelessly
Dangerous overtaking
Driving without reasonable consideration
Driving dangerously defective vehicle
Driving without insurance
Using vehicle (car) without Test Certificate
Failure by driver to comply with front seatbelt requirements
Failure to obey traffic lights
Crossing continuous white line
Penalty point offences that attract a mandatory court appearance
Minister Varadkar signed a Standing Order on 21st December 2012 to commence section 53(3)(c) of the Road Traffic Act 2010. The section states:
"a vehicle insurer with the approval of the Minister may have access to and may inspect and examine endorsements on the entry relating to persons under this section and may take, or be supplied by the Minister with, such copies of entries or extracts from such entries as the vehicle insurer may reasonably require for the purposes renewing approved policies of insurance, subject to such conditions as the Minister may determine."
The information will not be available to the general public and the arrangement is subject to strict data protection controls.