The insurance bill for one of Ireland's leading hotels has soared by almost 300% in just two years, a government minister was told last week.
Trade and enterprise minister Mary Harney described as "incredible" how the cost of cover at the five-star Park hotel in Kenmare, County Kerry, had jumped from €37,000 (£26,200) in 2001 to €103,541 (£73,300) this year.
Hotel owner Francis Brennan told a Killarney business meeting attended by the minister that he was employing 25% fewer staff as a result of the insurance spiral. The huge increase had been imposed, he said, despite the fact that the hotel hadn't made a public liability claim for 12 years.
The problem is not unique to the Park. Sky-high premiums - blamed by insurers on bogus and exaggerated claims, large compensation awards and huge legal bills - are threatening the survival of many hotels, according to the Irish Hotels Federation.
Its president, Jim Murphy, recently told a parliamentary committee that a survey of more than 900 hotels and guesthouses had shown that, in the past three years, the average cost of cover had risen by "a massive 351%".