Motorsport Ireland has warned that the future of motor racing in the country is in doubt after an "unsustainable" insurance premium increase of over 200% over the past two years.
In a statement today, Motorsport Ireland CEO Alex Sinclair said the increase "has taken the sport to the brink of whether it can survive or not."
In January, the governing body of the sport in Ireland invited club delegates from all eleven of its disciplines to a meeting in Tullamore.
What was laid on the table was a 50% increase on the existing levy this year for rallying events and a 25% increase in entry fees for the remaining 10 disciplines.
As only one insurance broker offered to insure Motorsport Ireland competitors, it was a take-it-or-leave-it scenario and the governing body had postponed four events that month due to lack of insurance cover.
The clubs eventually agreed to the increase, which saved the 2017 season, but Sinclair warns that the increased costs cannot be borne in the long term.
"Like so many people in Ireland, our insurance costs have spiralled out of control over the past couple of years" said Sinclair.
"Our premium increased by 140% last year and then another 26% this year. These increases are unsustainable and almost forced us to cancel the season — there was nearly no motor sport in Ireland this year.
"For the second year in a row, our motor clubs and drivers agreed to pay a levy on entries for events to cover the increased costs, but they can’t keep doing this.
"It means that the cost of entering an event such as the Corrib Oil Galway International Rally has risen from around €500 in 2015 to more than €1,100 this year. That kind of increase is unsustainable.
"We had no accidents or claims last year yet, like sports clubs, associations and consumers throughout Ireland our insurance premiums have sky-rocketed. Insurers I spoke to said it was down to high levels of awards and uncertainty they face in the Irish market.
"One London-based insurer even described it as the 'Wild West'.
"This is a problem which needs to be addressed urgently because motor sport can’t face another increase like this.
"We have upwards of 10,000 drivers, marshals, volunteers and fans involved in motor sport every weekend and they need to know that they will be able to continue enjoying the sport they love in the years to come."
