Competition in the motor and home insurance market in Ireland increased since last year with the entry of South African insurer OUTsurance – the first fully licensed provider to enter the Irish market in over a decade.

however, there have been no new entries into the farm insurance space, meaning agricultural operators have fewer choices when shopping around for policies.

Irish company FBD insurance remains the largest company in the farm and tractor sector, while international companies such as AXA, Aviva and Zurich also have substantial agricultural businesses.

While competition is great for any market, it is the cost of insurance claims which has the biggest effect on premium prices.

Changes in recent years on how injury claims are settled, plus other Government measures on pricing practices by insurance companies, have meant some reduction in the cost of policies.

Cost of repairs

However, we are increasingly hearing from insurers that the higher costs of repairing modern vehicles and increased expenses in house repairs, mean that the companies are not seeing a huge reduction in payouts.

Add to this the continued slow take-up of injury claims through the personal injuries assessment board, we find that challenges to getting further reduction in premium payments remain.

We will look at recent market developments, give some advice on how to make sure you have the correct coverage in place, and what to do if you find yourself in the unfortunate position of having to make a claim.