Ms Dorothea Dowling:

We can tell the committee, based on the statutory returns, what the average motor claim cost is here. The details are set out in slide No. 9. In 2013, which is the most recent year for which I have data, the average overall claims cost was €4,472. This includes claims for windscreens and theft, etc. The equivalent figure in the mid-1990s and late 1990s, before the MIAB was established, was approximately €4,900. It has come down below the level it was at back then. Slide No. 14 gives details of the average cost across certain EU member states. Figures are not available for all the member states, but that is another discussion. These figures are price parity adjusted to take account of the purchasing power in various jurisdictions. The average across all the EU member states that provided data for 2013 was approximately €4,000. I cannot adjust for price parity because I am not sure of the methodology. I can make a comparison between our figure of over €4,400 and the EU average of €4,000. That is a margin of 10%. I do not know to what extent an adjustment for price purchasing parity in countries like Bulgaria would skew it in either way.