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Irish Independent
09-07-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Independent
Injuries Resolution Board saved claimants €76m in legal costs last year while awarding €168m in compensation
The IRB, the state body that allows people to resolve personal injury claims without incurring legal costs, said €76m was saved. It awarded €168m in compensation last year, it said, after releasing its annual report for 2024. For the most part, the IRB does not pay legal costs, despite most claimants using it being represented by a solicitor. It said it had 20,837 claims last year, up 3pc on 2023. This was 33pc lower than the 2019 level. It attributed the 3pc rise to the fact that last year was the first full year in which Garda Compensation Scheme claims came under its remit. The huge fall in the number of payouts approved by the board last year compared with 2019 is largely due to the near 40pc drop in the average value of personal injury awards after the Personal Injuries Guidelines were introduced in 2021. A proposal from judges to increase the award levels by 17pc was referred by the Cabinet yesterday to a sub-group on insurance reform. The €168m paid by the IRB last year was down 39pc from the 2019 figure of €275m. The typical, or median, award was €13,100. This is up 12pc on 2023, but 29pc lower than in 2020. Acceptance rates, where both parties agree to an IRB assessment, grew again, to 50pc last year, up from 48pc in 2023. If a settlement offer from the board is not accepted by the claimant or the insurer, it goes to litigation unless it is settled by the insurer. The median motor liability award agreed by the board last year was €12,500, down €5,400 on the 2020 figure. The IRB, formerly known as the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, deals with road traffic, public liability and workplace personal injury claims. The longer a claim lasted before being resolved, the higher the legal fees Most claims have to go to it first, and can go to court only if an assessment by the IRB is rejected by either side. The longer a claim lasted before being resolved, the higher the legal fees, the board said. Enterprise Minister Peter Burke said the annual report demonstrates how the IRB's model continues to deliver significant benefits. 'I want to commend the board for its ongoing work, which last year alone generated savings of €76m in avoided legal costs,' he said. IRB chief executive Rosalind Carroll said that in the 20-year existence of the board, 'more than €1.2bn was saved in avoided legal costs as a direct result of claims being resolved through the board, with €76m alone saved in 2024'. She said the IRB exists to offer an alternative to litigation to provide a fair, impartial, non-adversarial route to resolve injury claims. The Alliance for Insurance Reform welcomed the fall in the number and value of claims, but said policy-holders were not benefiting from this.
RTÉ News
08-07-2025
- Automotive
- RTÉ News
Injuries board saves €76m over claims not proceeding to litigation
A total of €76 million was saved in "avoided costs" by the Injuries Resolution Board (IRB) last year, due to 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".
