Landmark ruling ‘will lower car insurance’

A LANDMARK ruling against an uninsured driver who injured a pedestrian should help pave the way for cheaper insurance premiums, the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) said yesterday.

Run and funded by the insurance industry, the MIBI is responsible for paying out for injuries sustained in hit-and-runs and when uninsured drivers are involved in accidents.

Each year for the last three years, the bureau has had to pay out €50 million to cover the costs of accidents in which uninsured drivers are involved.

In most cases, uninsured drivers involved in accidents sign a mandate agreeing to repay as best they can any funds paid out by the MIBI.

Frequently, the MIBI will get a share in property owned by the uninsured driver or set up a monthly payment system to recover funds gradually.

However, up to a quarter of the 3,000 uninsured drivers currently before the bureau completely ignore the MIBI, which then has to pursue them in the courts to recover any monies paid out.

Until now, the MIBI has accepted inferior payments from those who refuse to co-operate as such cases have always been settled before reaching court. However, in a landmark Circuit Court case this week, the bureau was awarded all costs by Judge Alison Lindsay in a case taken against an uninsured driver who had injured a pedestrian in June 2000.

The ruling was last night welcomed by MIBI chief executive John Casey, who said it would help to reduce insurance costs, since every insured driver is effectively subsidising those who continue to drive without insurance.

“It will see costs go down, we are convinced of that. We feel that five or six per cent of the cost of every premium goes to fund mayhem caused by uninsured drivers,” he said.

Mr Casey said there was now no doubt that anyone who refused to deal with the bureau could get away without paying the costs of the damage their uninsured driving inflicted.

“We would hope now that uninsured drivers will see the gravity of the situation they are in and settle with us.

“It’s a really good result for the 95% of people who pay their premiums. Really, the 5% that don’t pay are parasites on the rest of us,” he said.