Insurance companies benefiting from new compensation regime

The Personal Injuries Assessment Board has admitted that insurance companies are benefiting from the new compensation regime.

The company’s chief executive said British companies are looking at the Irish market and seeing that there is money to be made here.

In an interview with the Sunday Business Post, PIAB chief executive Patricia Byron said that since the introduction of the new regime to assess personal injuries, insurance companies here have seen their profits rise.

She said that the regime enables those companies to assess the cost of their claims more accurately.

People who wanted to make a claim for a personal injury must first lodge their claim with the Personal Injuries Assessment Board before they go to court.

As a result many lawyers have suffered a drop in their business, but insurance companies are more than making up for that loss.

Motor insurers profits increased by 25% to more than €400m last year, while underwriters saw a rise of 16% to over €800m.