Insurers urged to immediately cut premiums as payouts fall 50%

Tue, 06 Jul, 2021 - 08:10

Vivienne Clarke

The director of the Alliance for Insurance Reform, Peter Boland, has called on insurance companies to immediately reduce premiums following the drop of 50% in awards in personal injuries cases.

Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland, Mr Boland said that insurance costs in Ireland had been an “existential issue” for the past five years and despite the 50% drop in awards in the last two months, there had been no reduction in premiums.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

According to preliminary findings in a new report the drop in awards came about following the introduction of new guidelines. The update on the Government’s Action Plan for Insurance Reform, due to be brought to today’s Cabinet meeting, cites data from the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB).

It suggests that there has been a significant fall in the value of awards in the two months since long-awaited new personal injuries guidelines came into operation.

The report is understood to show that the guidelines have had an impact with the latest figures showing that 78% of awards were €15,000 or less now, compared to some 30 per cent last year.

Mr Boland warned that Irish society will not recover at pace unless “this is sorted out”. There were 35 sectors who still could not get insurance cover and he was calling on the Government to “get a move on this issue.”

The sectors involved could not wait for the remainder of the requirements on the action plan to come through. The impact of the new guidelines should have happened back in March, he said.

Ireland was completely out of line with the rest of Europe when it came to insurance, he added. It was “farcical” to still be talking about insurance as “an existential issue” while it was just another utility bill elsewhere.

Insurance providers needed to follow up on implementing the guidelines, he urged.

Personal injury awards drop by 50% as guidelines have impact