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Insurance Ireland notes reduction in public liability claims over five-year period and cautions against any unilateral increase in awards as recently proposed by the Judicial Council Board

Insurance Ireland note the latest Injuries Resolution Board report which highlights the positive impact insurance reforms have had on claim volumes over a five-year period.

  • 40% reduction in claim volumes between in 2023 compared to 2019 signals insurance reforms are have the desired impact; the average value of awards in 2023 also down 22% on 2020;
  • Concerns remain regarding overall insurance market with sustained cost-of-living pressures, stubbornly high legal costs, and Judicial Council decision on personal injury guidelines on the horizon

14th January: Insurance Ireland notes the latest Injuries Resolution Board report which highlights the positive impact insurance reforms have had on claim volumes over a five-year period. The report reflects the impact on claims during the Covid-19 period when most of the hospitality and retail sector remained closed and claims volumes reduced significantly. The report notes a 40% reduction in public liability claim volumes in 2023 compared to 2019 and reductions across almost all sectors of society.

The market has been barely profitable over the long term. The NCID ELPL Report 3 of April 2024 showed that the operating profit was 0.5% of total income between 2009 and 2022.

While the Injuries Resolution Board Annual Report for 2023 says that the average PL award in 2023 was €20,396 as against €16,833 in 2022 – an increase of 21%. That’s a concern especially at a time when the Judicial Council Board recently made the recommendation to increase award levels by 16.7% without any empirical evidence to support the need to do this. It is important that we do not kill off the green shoots of insurance reform in the PL market by increasing PIG awards at this time.

It is also important to note that according to the NCID ELPL Report 3 of April 2024, only 4% of ELPL injury settled claims costs were through the IRB, which equated to 12% of claimants.

The availability of the IRB data is an indispensable insight into the state of the claims environment and provides indisputable proof that the Agenda for Insurance Reform has been having a significant impact on claims amounts and the Injuries Resolution Board is to be commended for the publication of this vital report.

Moyagh Murdock, CEO of Insurance Ireland commented, “It is heartening to see that injury claims in hospitality have halved in the five-year period between 2023 and 2019. Shops and stores saw a decrease of 44%, and sports and athletic areas experienced a 38% reduction.”

Moyagh Murdock continued, “Even with the positives in this report, we cannot lose sight of the risks posed to the sector and consumers. Ireland is still grappling with sustained cost-of-living pressures, stubbornly high legal costs, and Judicial Council decision on personal injury guidelines on the horizon. Insurance Ireland calls on the new Government, when formed, to tackle these issues and ensure that consumers can continue to benefit from the comprehensive Agenda for Insurance Reform implemented by the last Government.”