Latest news with #InjuriesBoard
Irish Independent
09-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Blow for judges as minister decides against proposed 17pc increase to personal injury awards
It comes after a committee of judges had made a controversial proposal to hike personal injury award guidelines by almost 17pc. Insurance companies had warned that such a rise would have led to even more premium rises. The proposal from the Judicial Council needed to be approved by a change in the law to effect it. Personal injury guidelines are used by the courts and the Injuries Resolution Board when assessing injury claims. But it is understood that the proposal from the judges will not be voted into law. A memo prepared by Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan, to be presented to a Cabinet sub-committee on insurance reform, states that he will 'lay the guidelines in the Oireachtas but not move a resolution'. This effectively means the recommendation of the Judicial Council to increase the guideline award levels will be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas but not effected by legislative change. Next week's full Cabinet meeting will be presented with Mr O'Callaghan's memo which effectively says the Government should not move to increase injury award levels. This is seen as a major blow for the legal fraternity, but a victory for the likes of the Alliance for Insurance Reform, business lobby group ISME, Insurance Ireland, and insurance companies. All of these groups said lawyers would be the main winners from any hike in the award guideline levels. And the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council criticised the fact that the judges did not consult the Injuries Resolution Board before proposing higher award levels. Business and consumer groups claim that higher awards will act as a greater incentive for lawyers to encourage their clients to avoid settlements in the Injuries Board, which does not pay legal costs, and litigate the claims instead. Lawyers get huge legal fees for litigated cases. The Central Bank has found that in liability claims the average award assessment of the board and one that is litigated both come in at €24,000. Legal fees for cases settled through the Injuries Board average €597. However, litigated cases have average legal costs of €24,786. A sub-committee of the Cabinet, set up to drive insurance reform, discussed the matter today. It is understood a memo presented to the sub-committee by Mr O'Callaghan states the also plans to amend the Judicial Council Act that would mandate judges to review award guidelines over a longer period than the current three years. Judges will be forced to engage with the Injuries Resolution Board when considering changes to recommended award levels. There is also mention of a commitment to legal reform, in the memo. However, Minister O'Callaghan is also expected to convey his concerns to the sub-committee on insurance reform on the impact not increasing award levels could have on the Injuries Resolution Board. There is a risk that the judiciary could start making increased awards outside of the guidelines. At the same time the Injuries Board will not be permitted to increase its awards as it is obliged to impose the guidelines in place. There is a risk that this combination could drive claimants back to the courts with a consequent increase in legal costs which will make the claims process more expensive. This is something the minister is said to be cognisant of and plans to keep under review.
Irish Independent
01-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Lawyers ‘will be real winners' if plans to hike injury awards get green light
The Alliance for Insurance Reform said the proposed rise in award levels would send premiums up for consumers, businesses and community groups. Small business lobby group Isme (Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association), called on Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan not to support an increase in the scale of personal injury awards. Approving the rise would be a capitulation to vested legal interests, it claimed. Isme said the increase would lead to rises in insurance premiums for both businesses and consumers and 'would take money directly from small businesses and into the pockets of lawyers'. The Judicial Council has proposed that personal injury award guidelines should be increased by almost 17pc. It is understood Mr O'Callaghan is to bring a memo to the Cabinet next Tuesday, paving the way for draft legislation that would give effect to a planned rise in award levels. It comes at a time when car insurance premiums have risen for 21 months in a row, having fallen heavily up to 2022. Three-quarters of small businesses, sports, community and voluntary groups have seen their insurance premiums rise over the last two years, despite government reforms, the Alliance for Insurance Reform reported last week. The proposal from the judges comes despite the fact that the recommended payout for minor neck injuries, where recovery is made within six months, is already up to five-and-a-half times higher than in the UK. Alliance chairman Vincent Jennings, who is also chief executive of the Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association (CSNA), said lawyers would be the winners if recommended award levels rise. Insurance campaigners fear that higher award levels will incentivise lawyers to try harder to keep cases out of the State's Injuries Resolution Board process, which generally does not pay legal fees. Injury claims cases that proceed to litigation end up with legal fees averaging €23,000, according to Central Bank research. This is despite the fact that award levels paid by the Injuries Board and those achieved when cases are litigated, or settled before a court hearing, are all similar. Close to half of the settlement offers made by the Injuries Board are rejected. It said recently that 95pc of claimants using its services are represented by a solicitor. The fact that it does not pay legal fees means people often reject its settlement offers, the submission states. 'It is astonishing that at a time when premiums are rising month on month, and we already pay higher awards than any other European country, the Government looks set to approve an increase of 17pc in personal injury awards,' Mr Jennings said. He said such an increase is certain to raise insurance premiums and shows 'a worrying lack of awareness or, worse still, indifference to the ongoing financial challenges motorists, small business owners, voluntary, community and sporting organisations face'.
Irish Times
12-06-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Times
Motor insurance premiums rise almost 10%, according to latest data
The increasing cost of motor insurance premiums , with the latest official data pointing to a jump of almost 10 per cent year on year, has led to the junior Minister with oversight of the area to express his concern. According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the cost of motor insurance climbed by 8.4 per cent over the last 12 months, more than four times the general rate of inflation which was put at 1.7 per cent. The recent jump in prices comes on top of multiple increases in 2023 and 2024 with the average cost of a premium said to be well in excess of €600 as a result. 'The year-on-year increase in motor insurance is concerning, despite prices being over a third lower since their 2016 peak,' said the Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions, and Insurance, Robert Troy. READ MORE 'While recent reforms in the sector have had a positive impact, it is clear that more needs to be done from a policy perspective to ensure that consumers are getting access to cheaper premiums.' More engagement with the Injuries Board has led to a reduction of 30 per cent in respect of motor injury claims and 41 per cent in respect of awards values over a six-year review period covered by a recent report. [ Opens in new window ] There have been substantial changes to the motor insurance sector over recent months that have made it harder for people driving without insurance to escape detection. Reforms have also brought about greater transparency when it comes to claims and driver behaviour all of which suggest g the cost of premiums should be on a downward trajectory. Will rent reform make building apartments viable? Listen | 40:12 However that has not been happening with some motorists now paying more than €200 for cover now than they were just three years ago. The Minister for State said that is his meetings with 'the main insurance players since taking office, I have underlined my expectation that savings arising from these reforms be passed on to consumers. ' He said that a public consultation on the new Action Plan for Insurance Reform has been completed and reviewed by officials in the Department of Finance. 'Insurance reform is a key priority for me and this Government, and we will be in a position to publish this Action Plan over the summer,' he continued. He said it was his intention that the plan would l focus on a 'series of targeted actions which can have meaningful impact for consumers, including an expansion of the Office to Promote Competition in the Insurance Market.'
Irish Independent
03-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Injuries Resolution Board proposes rethink on whether it can sanction the paying of legal fees
The Injuries Resolution Board has called on the Government to consider changing the law to allow it to sanction the paying of legal fees. Such a move would represent a massive U-turn because the board was set up 20 years ago with the express intention of avoiding costly legal fees. Under current legislation, the board can sanction the paying of legal fees only in very limited circumstances. In a submission to the Department of Finance, as part of the public consultation on a new Action Plan For Insurance Reform, the Injuries Resolution Board says that 95pc of claimants using its services are represented by a solicitor. The fact that it does not pay legal fees means people often reject its settlement offers, the submission states. Close to half of the settlement offers made by the board are rejected. However, legal fees often end up being paid by insurers' lawyers after the claim leaves the Injuries Resolution Board, the submission says. 'For a large proportion of claims that leave our system, legal fees are incurred thereafter and paid,' the submission said. The Injuries Resolution Board, formerly known as the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, is the state body allowing people to resolve personal injury claims without having to go to court. It deals with road traffic, public liability and workplace personal injury claims. Most injury claims have to go to it before going to court, and can go to court only if an assessment by the board is rejected by either side. The longer a claim lasted before being resolved, the higher the legal fees, the board said. The submission said that many insurers offered to pay legal fees where the claimant's solicitor agreed to accept the award initially recommended by the Injuries Board after the claim had left the Injuries Board system. This meant that the board should consider paying legal fees. The submission states: 'In the interests of resolving claims at an earlier juncture for all concerned, 20 years after the establishment of the board, the question of legal fees needs to be considered.' ADVERTISEMENT Such a move may undercut lawyers who have a financial interest in getting cases out of the Injuries Board to generate fees for themselves. The Injuries Board calls for consideration for a 'scale of fees' that it would pay. It understood that typical legal fees would be between €1,000 and €2,000, reflecting that fact that Injuries Board assessments are resolved much faster than if they are litigated. A separate submission from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission says that resolving personal injury claims through the Injuries Resolution Board is faster than litigation and has lower legal costs. Central Bank research has found that settlement costs for claims of less than €150,000 are €23,000 for both cases settled by the Injuries Board and for those involving litigation. For cases taken through the Injuries Board, the legal costs are €1,000. But if they involved litigation, the legal costs rise to €23,000. More than 70pc of claims are settled by litigation, representing 89pc of injury settlement costs, the Central Bank found. And legal costs have risen despite the Personal Injuries Guidelines, used by both the courts and the Injuries Board, having dropped by up to 40pc in the past few years. And judges have controversially recommended that award guideline levels rise by 16.7pc, which the Government has yet to endorse. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission submission calls for more data on legal costs. Fast-food giant Supermac's, whose owner Pat McDonagh has long campaigned for insurance reform, submitted that there should be insurance pricing transparency legislation. The company wants mandatory disclosure by insurers of the key components contributing to premium calculations. It also wants insurers to be forced to justify 'significant year-on-year premium increases, with oversight by a regulatory body'. The Alliance for Insurance Reform submitted that broker charges account for an increasing proportion of the overall cost of insurance and that brokerage firms are being sold for huge multiples. 'Many brokers now charge a fee based on a percentage of the cost of the policy. This is inherently unfair to consumers as the 'worse' the premium they secure for them, the more money they will make. We believe this needs further examination,' the Alliance stated. Representative group for small businesses, ISME, said there is 'no moral hazard for fraudulent claims'. The Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association (CSNA) called for insurance companies to 'devote more time and resources to investigating claims rather than paying up due to a cost-benefit analysis'. Some 70 submissions were made, but the Law Society, which represents solicitors, and the Bar Council, which represents barristers, do not appear to have made submissions.
