Hibernian stands firm on penalty points policy

Hibernian has hit back at Opposition criticism of its penalty points initiative and has called on politicians of all parties to ensure that the issue of insurance reform remains close to the top of the agenda.

Chief executive Mr Dick O'Driscoll accused Fine Gael of scoring cheap political points with arguments enterprise spokesman Mr Phil Hogan knows to be wrong.

Mr Hogan last week accused Hibernian of "crass opportunism" in deciding to refuse to take on new business from motorists with five or more points and in "loading" customers who receive six or more points.

The policy, for renewals or new business from November 1st, will also see drivers without points getting a 10 per cent discount on their premiums.

Mr O'Driscoll says Mr Hogan, a former insurance broker, must know that no insurance company accepts anyone who has had a conviction in the previous three years. If anything, he says, Hibernian has loosened its stance on this.

"You expect the Opposition to seek to make life difficult for the Government but to see Mr Hogan, a former broker, to accuse us of 'crass opportunism' when this is a norm throughout the industry was disappointing," said Mr O'Driscoll.

Hibernian says the five-point cut-off point was chosen because it matches the number of points set down by the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, upon conviction for those people found driving without insurance.

Mr Brennan has been quick to defend the Hibernian proposal saying its balance of incentives for those without points and deterrents for people accruing points matches his view of how such a system should work.

Mr O'Driscoll insisted Hibernian would not be deflected from its penalty points policy despite no support for its approach from rival insurers, particularly, Axa, which, with Hibernian, dominates the Irish motor market.

"We are going to stick with this until someone proves that it doesn't work," he said.

He added that he believed most other insurers would be acting in a similar manner even though they had not introduced specific penalty point initiatives. Axa and others have said they will weigh up all the risks in setting a premium.

Mr O'Driscoll warned that the biggest threat to improved road safety and lower insurance premiums for motorists was political complacency.

"Movement from the Motor Insurance Advisory Board report, and from the introduction of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board and other such initiatives, are the ingredients for long-term success in this area.

"The danger is that it will fall off the political agenda," he says. "We are using whatever we can to encourage people to behave better on the roads. We want to see the structures of change being put in place in the market that will see long-term improvement.

"We, the Government and the insurance industry, need to prove to customers that performance will make a difference and that changes in driver behaviour will yield results."

Mr O'Driscoll said the company would review regularly its points thresholds, both for loading and for refusal of new business.

He pointed out, however, that of the 55,000 drivers who to date have been notified of penalty points, just 117 have more than four points.