Injuries board saves €76m over claims not proceeding to litigation
That's according to the Board's 2024 Annual Report, which also says that insurers and respondents in 70% of claims submitted to the IRB consented to it resolving them.
Meanwhile, half of the board's claim assessments last year were accepted by both the claimant and respondent (up slightly from 48% in 2023).
The State body was established in 2004 to help improve the process of resolving personal injuries claims, and to offer an alternative to what it calls "unnecessary litigation".
Overall claims handled by the IRB rose slightly last year (+3% to 20,837), however, the figure remains a third (33%) lower than 2019 claim volumes.
The report says that last year's increase in claims was driven by the introduction of the new garda compensation scheme, which added to the overall portfolio of claims dealt with by the board.
The board considers 2019 the most relevant year for comparison with 2024, as it was before the Covid pandemic - during which claim numbers were distorted by the impact of lockdowns and reduced business and personal activity.
The total value of awards made by the IRB last year was €168 million, which was down by €2 million on the previous year, but was 39% lower than the 2019 figure.
The highest award approved was €634,875, with the lowest award amounting to €69.
The 2024 report also shows the average timeline to assess a claim was 11.2 months, while following this, over half of all compensation awards were made within nine months.
Motor liability accounted for nearly seven out of ten claims (69%), with a median motor award value of €12,541 last year (down 30% on 2020 figures).
Public liability (down 34% since 2020 to €13,660) and employer liability (-31% to €16,255 since 2020) median claim awards have also fallen between 2020 and last year.
The median award across all categories for 2024 was €13,100, which was up 12% on the previous year but down 29% on 2020.
Twenty years since Injuries Resolution Board set up
2024 marked the 20th year of the IRB's operation, which was originally set up as the Personal Injuries Assessment Board.
Since 2004 the State body has dealt with over half a million personal injury claims, making 200,000 assessments that resulted in over €4 billion in awards.
Over that time it says an estimated €1.2 billion has been saved in avoided legal costs by claims not going through litigation.
Commenting on the 2024 report, Injuries Resolution Board Chief Executive Rosalind Carroll said "the enhancement and expansion of our services to include mediation and the Garda Compensation Scheme, increases our potential to resolve a greater number of claims and demonstrates the difference we can make to individuals who have suffered an injury through no fault of their own, and at the same time bring with this savings on both time and costs.
"We exist to offer an alternative to litigation to provide a fair, impartial, non-adversarial route to resolve injury claims in a faster, and less stressful way. We have delivered on this successfully over the last twenty years, with a very different environment today then there was 20 years ago," she said.
"When looking at 2024 of note is that claim volumes for personal injury remain 33% lower than 2019, and therefore it is important to consider the impact on this in overall value of claims in Ireland. In particular, in 2024 there has been no increase in claims in public liability and a 5% decrease in employer liability."
Savings generated by IRB not being seen by policyholders
The Alliance for Insurance Reform said the IRB annual report "makes clear that significant savings are being generated due to avoided legal costs and the volume of claims coming down by a third".
Alliance board member Ivan Cooper said: "these facts alone warrant meaningful and sustained reductions in insurance premiums, but instead we continue to see insurance companies prioritise profits over their policyholders.
"There is no justification for liability premiums for businesses, sports, community and voluntary groups to be increasing and yet they continue to do so."
The IRB report comes as the Government is considering a recommendation by the Judicial Council to increase personal injuries guidelines by nearly 17%, which - if approved - would have a knock-on effect on the value of compensation awards.
The alliance has said that "in the face of ever-rising insurance premiums we urge the Government not to increase personal injury awards by 16.7% – something they are actively considering. To do so now will guarantee the cost of insurance goes up even further."
Insurers have also urged the Government not to increase the guidelines, while yesterday the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council also advised the Government to reconsider the increase.
Cabinet is set to make a decision on the matter in the coming weeks.
Last week a spokesperson for Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan, whose brief has responsibility for the guidelines, said he "is acutely aware of the impact that any such amendments to increase damages for personal injuries will have on insurance premiums, competitiveness and the business community".
They added: "He is further aware that any decision taken must provide for the effective operation of the Personal Injuries Resolution Board and the personal injuries architecture contained within the Judicial Council Act 2019 which has resulted in significant reductions in damages for personal injuries in recent years".
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