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Why insurers refuse, and what to do first
What a refusal is based on. The answers on the proposal. Our full quote asks about convictions, disqualifications, penalty points and claims; your licence type and how long you have held it; the car; and whether a previous policy was cancelled or refused. Under the Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019 you must answer the insurer’s questions honestly and with reasonable care, and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), the State’s consumer watchdog, warns that a policy can be cancelled for undisclosed details and that you may then find it difficult to get cover. If a previous policy was cancelled, say so when you quote; it is asked about directly.
Ask for the reason, in writing. Citizens Information says a provider must give you a reason for a refusal if you ask for one, and points to the CCPC for a formal complaint against a motor insurer. A written refusal is what the Declined Cases Agreement runs on.
Try the rest of the market first. Each insurer decides for itself what it will quote. If your situation is on one of our pages, start there: convictions, penalty points, a driving ban, claims history, no driving history, or a foreign licence.
The Declined Cases Agreement: how it works
Insurance Ireland operates the Declined Cases Agreement, which all motor insurers in Ireland adhere to. Under it, the market will not refuse insurance to an individual or a business that has approached at least three insurers and been unable to get cover. In general the insurer you approached first must provide the quote, so keep a careful note of the order in which you approached each one; Insurance Ireland says each refusal letter is valid for six months from its date. Where you held a policy within the previous three years, that insurer is obliged to quote once the three refusals are in hand, and it may be one of the three. The only ground on which the insurer can then refuse is that cover would be contrary to the public interest.
Insurance Ireland adds that a committee of the signatory insurers administers the agreement, with the Consumers’ Association of Ireland and the Financial Services Ombudsman’s Bureau as observers; that if it cannot be established which insurer you approached first, the case goes to the next insurer on a rota; and that the committee can decide a quote so high, or terms so excessive, as to amount to a refusal, and review it. Citizens Information gives the route: send the three written refusals to the Declined Cases Committee at declined@insuranceireland.eu, and it will get a quote for you.
Have ready the refusal letters or emails with their dates, the order you approached the insurers, the reason each gave, and the details behind it. To talk it through, call 0818 92 92 42, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm.
Sources: Insurance Ireland – Declined Cases Agreement; Citizens Information – motor insurance on return to Ireland; Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019; CCPC – car insurance. Last reviewed September 2026.
