FG councillor sought meeting with Bruton for his Axa boss

A Fine Gael councillor who works with Axa Insurance sought a meeting for his boss with a Minister last year so the company could "explain the difficulties experienced by insurers".

Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show Anthony Lavin, a Fine Gael councillor and customer care manager at Axa, wrote to Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton requesting a meeting between the Minister, then Axa chief executive John O'Neill and his successor Phil Bradley.

Although prompting initial confusion about the relevancy of the department to the insurance sector, the meeting appears to have been an attempt to address a legislative review of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB).

Consultation

The injuries board was established in 2004 to streamline claims applications, avoid unnecessary litigation and reduce costs. Axa Insurance was one of 29 bodies to submit views on the board’s workings as part of a public consultation process.

In an email to the Minister's special adviser, Ciarán Conlon, last August, Mr Lavin said Mr O'Neill "wants to explain to Mr Bruton the difficulties being experienced by insurers in Ireland over the past 18 months, and the effect this is having and will have on insurance premiums and as a result of the cost of living etc".

Mr Lavin mentioned his employment at Axa and the meeting was declared on the register of lobbying. Details were obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

Areas of concern

Mr Lavin, who did not attend the meeting eventually scheduled for last October, said he had been asked to arrange it in order to address areas of concern.

In an internal email, a departmental official advised it would be “useful” for the Minister to meet “given the expected increases in premiums for consumers (and implications for inflation, etc) and the impact that rising commercial insurance costs have on enterprise competitiveness”.

Axa proposed several changes to the operation of PIAB.

It believes that those refusing to attend a medical exam arranged by the board or who make “unsustainable claims” should not be entitled to legal costs in any subsequent litigation.

The Department of Jobs said all submissions were being considered and would feed into a draft Bill anticipated in the coming months.