So-called “ghost brokers” have provided fraudulent insurance policies to thousands of unsuspecting Irish motorists, Aviva Insurance has revealed.

Aviva’s fraud manager Robert Smyth says that his team has identified 10 illegal ghost brokers linked to between 1,000 and 1,500 invalid policies. Young drivers and foreign nationals are the most likely to be targeted with the fraudsters enticing unsuspecting victims with cheap but ostensibly legitimate policies.

Ghost brokers buy insurance policies from legitimate companies using relevant information provided ...

How did your Christmas shopping go last year? Enjoyable? Bearable? Or stressful beyond belief? Many of us are guilty of leaving it until the very last minute, when the pressure is on and the shops are at their busiest. This year, why not try a different approach?

If you want to get your shopping done early, here are some pointers.

Make your list and check it twice

Hey, it works for Santa Claus. Sit down and decide who you want to buy presents for. Has anyone been particularly naughty or nice in 2019? Is there a new person in your life deser...

This Sunday, all those injured or killed on our roads will be commemorated as part of the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.

Tragically, 24,390 people (roughly the population of Tralee) have died in fatal crashes in Ireland since records began in 1959. Over 80,000 people have been seriously injured on Irish roads since in 1977. So far in 2019, a total of 125 people have lost their lives on our raods.

World Day of Remembrance provides an opportunity to draw the public’s attention to the impact of road crashes. The Road Safety Authority will b...

Irish road users are involved in an accident of some kind once every five years. Whether these incidents are minor scrapes or more serious in nature, it’s extremely important that we know what to do if one occurs.

1. Naturally, the health and safety of everyone involved is of the utmost importance when an accident occurs. If necessary, call an ambulance.
2. Keep all vehicles in the same position. As the site of the incident is a potential crime scene, it’s your legal obligation to leave everything as it is until otherwise inst...

The new Judicial Council is expected to begin “recalibrating” awards for less serious personal injuries such as whiplash by early next year.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan wants action to be taken on the contentious issue of high personal injury awards, which industry experts say are contributing to higher insurance premiums across the board.

Speaking to the Independent.ie, Mr Flanagan said he is “very keen that early next year we will see real progress on this important issue.”

He added that there was an “urgent need to ensure a greater level of c...

A series of new changes aimed at benefitting the consumer will come into effect in November, significantly altering the way insurance brokers like GMHD.ie issue renewals.

The Non-Life Insurance (Provision of Information) (Renewal of Policy of Insurance) (Amendment) Regulations 2018, or SI 577/2018 for short, will affect renewal notices and new policy documentation from November 1.

There are three changes to the renewal notice.

1. The notice period for issuing all renewals has been extended from 15 days to 20 days.
2. When it comes ...

• Broker estimates the cost of insuring the character on 2015 Ford Focus at almost €33k
• Hobbs was involved in 28 accidents throughout the series
• Based on his driving in the series he would be on the receiving end of 39 penalty points in Ireland

With Hobbs & Shaw, the latest movie in the Fast & Furious franchise, tearing it up at the box office, one of Ireland’s largest insurance brokers GMHD.ie has determined that The Rock’s character Luke Hobbs would be subject to an annual premium of €32,928 to be insured on ...

The UK Department of Transport has confirmed that Green Cards will not be necessary for Irish motorists planning on driving in the United Kingdom after a no-deal Brexit.

It had been feared that Irish drivers would face insurance recognition issues in the UK post-Brexit but the British government says that Irish discs will be accepted as proof of insurance in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

A Green Card is an internationally recognised insurance document which demonstrates to law enforcement agencies that valid motor insurance is in pl...

October 31 is fast approaching and it’s looking increasingly possible that the UK (and the rest of Europe) could be facing into a No Deal Brexit. There’s a lot of uncertainty around what might happen if that transpires, both on an individual and a commercial level. Here are some important factors that you might want to consider.

Motor

Individual insurers will each make their own arrangements in relation to Irish private policy holders driving in the UK.

These arrangements will be announced closer to the date but if you know you will be driving in ...