AS chairman of The Underwriting Exchange, sponsor of the National 1.40m Grand Prix League and joint-sponsor with Devenish of the senior Irish show jumping team, Stephen O’Connor has strong views on the insurance business in this country.

“The Underwriting Exchange is the leading Lloyd’s broker with regards placing Irish business into the London market with over €100 million of Irish business being placed by TUE and its sister company, LIME (London Ireland Market Exchange),” he explained as an opening to the topic.

“I hope the new Government will have another look at some of the issues in the insurance sector. We have all been reading about some of the issues regarding the difficulties with Business Interruption Insurance and other challenges facing the trade credit sector, amongst other things emanating from the Covid-19 situation. However, some of the longstanding issues in the liability sector would benefit from a review.

“Specifically, in respect of litigation in Ireland, we need some type of reform. We need to look at some level of legislation that makes the governing body of sports associations and/or leisure centres, etc. not responsible for the participation risk.

“There needs to be a differentiator in a situation such as somebody crashing on a go-kart track, breaking their leg playing football or breaking an arm if they fall off a horse where the participant needs to take some responsibility. The insurance should be left to cover gross negligence for things outside the participant’s control such as faulty equipment, very bad playing surface, being negligent to run an event when the conditions weren’t appropriate or the like.

“At present, equestrian associations and venues are having to defend situations where there is effectively no fault which, in turn, sees their insurance provider having to spend a huge amount of money on legal fees. In the equestrian world, we could put together some form of Personal Accident Policy with set limits for the standard breaking of limbs, etc; other jurisdictions are starting to look at this model.

“If there is not suitable reform, and if we can’t differentiate and manage this, we will have further insurance company and/or syndicate withdrawals from the sector. This is a significant and serious issue for Irish society in general and, as we all know, it has been well publicised. In respect of the equestrian world, it’s something that urgently needs to be addressed and, if dealt with, would have benefits not only for the sport horse sector, but also the thoroughbred sector as well as certain other leisure activities.

“There are many challenges ahead for the new Government post lockdown but I hope that the blend of new Ministers and those who have been in Government for the past few years will be a good mix to help us recover.

Industry funding

“With every sector looking for help, getting funding for the sport horse world will be a huge challenge. It would be great if we could have world-class venues, at least one per province, which would receive Government funding. If we had suitable facilities and services it might help retain some of the better riders and horses in Ireland which, with some further breeding initiatives, would bring potential buyers into the country to see what we have to offer.

“To conclude on this topic, the Latin phrase Volenti Non-Fit Injuria is something that gets mentioned in our sector. This means ‘to a willing person no injury is done’. Hopefully this is something the new Minister will take on board,” said O’Connor.