Insurance reform advocates have challenged the industry’s justification for raising premiums, as new data reveals personal injury claims remain significantly lower than pre-pandemic figures.
According to the latest report from the Injuries Resolution Board (IRB), while personal injury claims increased marginally by 1% to 20,318 last year, this figure still represents a 35% reduction compared to 2019 levels, despite the return of pre-pandemic traffic volumes and high employment.
The IRB, which handles all personal injury claims that aren’t litigated or settled privately, reported that workplace, business, and public space accident claims have plummeted by 40% compared to 2019, while motor claims are down 30% over the same period.
“The continuous decline in claim volumes over recent years makes the ongoing increase in insurance premiums impossible to justify,” said Brian Hanley from the Alliance for Insurance Reform, which campaigns against excessive premiums.
The report also reveals that award values have decreased substantially, with the median payment to claimants falling by 29% over five years, from €18,422 in 2020 to €13,000 in 2024. The average award value dropped by 21% during the same period to €18,967.
More cases are being resolved through the IRB rather than proceeding to costly litigation, with acceptance rates for assessments reaching 50% in 2024, up from 48% in 2023 and 44% in 2022.
Hanley expressed concern about the Government’s proposed 17% increase in personal injury awards, warning it could push more cases into expensive litigation and lead to higher premiums. “Motorists, businesses, sports, community and voluntary organisations simply cannot afford for this to happen,” he cautioned.
The alliance has called on the Government to safeguard the IRB as “the fairest and fastest means of settling claims” to prevent further premium increases in a country where insurance costs are already higher than most other nations.