Mr. Jackie McMahon:

Much of the time we would do it in advance. It is interesting as I can understand and I feel that on many occasions the payouts are just too high; they are too high. I am absolutely making that clear from the start and it is driving the cost of insurance. We could tell the customer that we are paying €25,000 on the basis of an injury and he or she might say "no way, that is ridiculous". We could then ask them about a hypothetical offer of €25,000 plus 40% of that in costs to run it. Would they accept that?

Of course not. It would be too much risk, given the cost of the bill and of running the case, the fact that the size of the compensation can increase, and the courts' interpretation of what is "fault" and the severity of injury under the law of the land.