The most important consideration when selecting which insurance policy to take should always be that the right amount of cover is in place. However, there is plenty of value in shopping around as policy prices can vary widely, and anywhere a cost saving can be made is money in your pocket.

While the Central Statistics Office (CSO) does not produce a breakdown of data for farm policies, it does have numbers for the change in the price of home and motor insurance (Figure 1).

The cost of both raw materials and labour for construction rose considerably in the aftermath of the pandemic and the supply-chain disruptions that followed it. We can see that increase in rebuilding costs reflected in the higher premiums being charged, which rose by 14% between the end the end of 2023 and mid-2025.

ADVERTISEMENT

The good news is that, according to the CSO data, the price of home insurance peaked in September 2025 and has fallen by around 3.5% since. The picture is similar when it comes to motor insurance, according to CSO data. Premiums there peaked in April 2025 but since then have declined by approximately 3%.

In recent years insurers have said the rise in motor insurance prices has been driven by the higher value of modern cars and their increased complexity which makes repairs more expensive. They also cite much increased labour costs within the car-repair industry.

The most recent Irish Central Bank report on the private motor insurance market does show the increase in the cost of damage repair. The cost per damage claim on motor insurance policies more than doubled between 2017 and 2024, with more than half of that increase coming in just two years, 2022 and 2023 (Figure 2).

Data from the Central Bank does show, however, that pace of the increase in repair costs eased considerably in 2024, the most recent year for which data is available.

The motor insurance sector is the most competitive in the industry, with more than a dozen companies in the space. This has helped lower policy costs in the last year as providers are quick to pass any savings on to customers in order to maintain market share.

Injury claims payouts from motor insurance policies were at €464m in 2024, an increase on the amount paid out in 2023, but down more than €70m from the €537m seen in 2014. This reflects the success of the Injuries Resolution Board (formerly the Personal Injuries Assessment Board), and the introduction of judicial guidelines for payouts for specific injuries. These apply to both putting a cap on the size of payouts and also increasing the speed at which settlements can be reached.

For payouts on motor insurance policies, the ratio between payouts for damage claims and for injury claims has moved from 3:7 in 2014 to 1:1 in 2024.

However, there is still a lot of work to do in the space. A report published by the Society of Actuaries working group at the beginning of June 2026 found that Irish insurers are still paying 50% more than their UK counterparts for personal injury claims. In 2024 third-party injury claims per motor policy in the Republic were €205, compared to €135 in the UK. The report said that “legal costs remain one of the key drivers of the higher third-party injury claims cost per policy in Ireland.”

Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Robert Troy TD, said, following the publication of the report, that the Government action plan for insurance reform provides a clear roadmap to tackle legal costs incurred when making a personal injury claim.

The progress made on personal injury claims under employer’s liability and public liability polices is notable.

Latest data from the Central Bank showed that in the first half of 2025 the cost of injury claims under for those insurance sectors stood at €133m, 13% below the average between 2015-2019, and 17% below the level seen in 2020 for claims under €150,000.

In the first half of 2025, 64% of all employers’ liability and public liability injury claims were settled under the personal injuries guidelines.

Public liability

For most farmers the thought of a member of the public injuring themselves after entering their land – either with or without permission – has long been a huge concern.

Amendments to the Occupiers Liability Act introduced in July 2023 have done some work to reset the balance of liability back towards the member of the public and away from the landowner.

Among the key changes are that courts have to take regard of the care visitors may reasonably be expected to have for their own safety, and also the probability of an accident occurring and cost of eliminating risks.

Occupiers are entitled to assume that an adult can look after their own welfare.

The standard of care obligation for landowners, when it comes to risks on their property, has been changed from one of “reasonable knowledge” to that of “acting recklessly” in relation to the hazard.

The amendments also limit the circumstances under which a landowner can be liable when a person enters a property for the purpose of committing an offence. It is worth noting that in instances where a landowner charges visitors to their farm the legal duty of care rises significantly, unless the charge is limited to charging for car parking.

In 2025, the Government published the Recreation in Ireland’s Outdoors booklet which clearly outlines the duties, responsibilities and legal rights of both landowners and those who seek to access the land for recreational use

Finally, there is now a broad range of circumstances where it can be shown that a visitor to a farm voluntarily assumed risks which resulted in injury. Previously, a written agreement was required.

In 2025, the Government published the Recreation in Ireland’s Outdoors booklet which clearly outlines the duties, responsibilities and legal rights of both landowners and those who seek to access the land for recreational use.

Uninsured drivers

The introduction of the Irish Motor Insurance Database system in 2023, which allows gardaí to identify cars on the road which are being driven without insurance, has made significant progress in reducing the number of uninsured drivers.

According to research conducted by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland the number of uninsured motor vehicles on the road has been cut in half since 2022. Over 19,500 vehicles were seized by Gardaí in 2025 for driving without insurance. There was a further development to the data available to gardaí in 2025 with the addition of driver licence numbers to insurance policies for every driver covered by the policy.

The Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland has called for more measures to be introduced, including continuous vehicle coverage (CVC). Under this system the owner of a vehicle is legally required to insure their vehicle from the moment they take ownership. This means that a database of registered vehicles can be compared against a database of insured vehicles. Fines can be automatically issued to owners without the need for gardaí to catch them in the act of driving without insurance.

However, with just over 100,000 vehicles still been driven without insurance, accidents with uninsured drivers still happen. In those cases, the costs of claims are covered by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland (MIBI). The costs from those claims are then recovered through a charge by the MIBI on the policies of insured drivers. A reduction in the number of uninsured drivers, should lead to a reduction in the number of claims handled by the MIBI, which in turn should reduce the cost added to motor insurance policies.

Value for money

With all this in mind, here are a few tips for getting value for money while ensuring you have sufficient cover in place.

Whenever any policy comes up for renewal, it is worth your while shopping around before committing. Even if you are happy with your current insurer, or broker, a lower quote from another company may lead to a discount on renewal with your current provider.

In 2022 the Central Bank banned a practice among insurance companies known as “price walking”, where the company charges more to customers who renew with them every year. Basically, customers were charged a higher premium for no reason other than staying with the same provider. The change in the rules should mean that someone renewing a policy should get at least as good a deal on their policy as a new customer would get.

This change, however, this should not discourage anyone from shopping around – a few hours spent getting the right policy at the right price could still save hundreds of euros.

You should start shopping around as soon as you receive your renewal notice to get a range of quotes in good time. Insurers will generally send out a renewal notice well in advance of the renewal date. It is worth noting that quotes will generally only be valid for one month.

Ensure than you have sufficient cover in place. With the large increases in rebuilding costs in recent years, be realistic about how much reconstruction will take.

If you are underinsured, your insurer will only be obliged to pay for the insured portion.

For example, if your house rebuild costs are €500,000 and you are insured for €400,000, then your insurer is only obliged to pay four-fifths of any claim.

If there is €100,000 of storm damage done to your house, the insurer will only have to pay €80,000 of that claim, leaving you significantly out of pocket.

Other things worth looking out for are the size of the excess on your policy and any other add-ons that you might need.

Increasing the size of the excess – the amount you have to pay before the insurance company steps in – will reduce premiums. Many insurers offer pay monthly options for policies.

While these might seem like a good idea to reduce the pain of a significant bill, the interest rates and charges added can add a lot to the annual cost of a policy.

Making a claim

Finally, if the worst comes to pass and you need to make a claim, there are a few simple things that can be done now, and few things to keep in mind when the time comes to make a claim.

Try to have photographs of everything that is insured. With cameras on every phone, it is not a lot of work to go and take pictures of machinery, vehicles, sheds and other buildings. Having these pics will make everyone’s life easier, and probably lead to a faster, fairer claim.

When the times comes to make a claim contact your insurer or broker as soon as you discover a problem. Most polices will have an emergency contact number on them, use that as a first point of contact. Give brief details of what has happened and request a claim form. Follow the insurer’s advice as closely as possible.

In the case of larger claims an independent assessor may be employed to value the claim. You are entitled to hire your own assessor to negotiate on your behalf with the insurance company, if necessary.

Where there is a claim against you, the insurance company are under no obligation to keep you informed of the progress, or settlement, of any claim.

Overall, now is the time to check your polices to make sure there is sufficient cover in place, and to take lots of photographs of what’s insured. Your future self will thank you if they find themselves having to make a claim.