asked the Minister for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism the steps he proposes to take to stop the practice of insurers of rate cutting, particularly in liability underwriting; and if he will give an undertaking that this practice will not be to the disadvantage of the insuring public.

There is obviously no objection to competitive quoting for insurance risks, but concern has been expressed to the industry about the practice of excessive price cutting without regard to the risk involved. There are recent indications in liability underwriting, however, that the insurers have taken this matter to heart.

I have no powers under insurance legislation to enforce minimum premium rates and indeed in liability insurance, where rates are complex and the nature of individual risks is important, the setting of minimum premium rates by law would be a difficult task.

Would the Minister agree that considerable losses have been incurred by general insurers in the country in the last year or two, that it is estimated that 25 companies lost money in 1981-82 and that, perhaps when the blue book is available from his Department, it will indicate further considerable losses on the part of insurers, a lot of such losses being in excess of £2 million? Would the Minister indicate what action he proposes taking in order to prevent the possible collapse of some of those writing general insurance in the country?

In fact there are 26 insurers writing liability business. I am concerned that, in recent years, there seems to have been some under-cutting in the market place. But my understanding is that there is recent evidence that insurers are having a change of heart in this insurance area and are returning to more normal practices. What has happened is that there has been a rate cutting below the official guide rates which companies should have used and from which they had departed.