Sir, – So here we go again, another insurance bailout to be paid for by us (Editorial, "Consumers pay the price of Setanta Insurance collapse", March 7th).
Is it not time for the grown-ups to take over here? Our overall insurance market is like a sandbox full of children who think they know how to price risk and grab market share, and then we have to all rush in every few years to sort out the mess as the sandcastles fall over.
Part of being in a single European market was supposed to be greater scope for efficiencies in a bigger pool of buyers and sellers. Why cannot our existing European insurance giants offer pan-European cover? They already cover our occasional motoring forays into Europe, so it is not a risk they are unfamiliar with.
And before anyone says higher legal and medical costs, can I remind those same people of what priorities are remaining from the days of the troika. We received a lot of external advice about reducing high legal and medical insurance costs that we could have given ourselves.
My broker cannot tell what my motor insurance cost will be in three weeks, not to mind on my renewal date in July, as it is changing so much these days due to the Setanta fiasco.
We do regulatory failure so well. It should be a national sport. – Yours, etc,
JOHN O’CONNELL,
Letterkenny,
Co Donegal.