Mr. Michael Horan:

Between 2014 and 2017 the gross incurred cost of motor claims increased by 17%. The figures for 2015, 2016 and 2017 found that the average award for all claims up to €100,000 increased by over €900 each year. The average Circuit Court award increased from about €16,000 in 2015 to €19,000 in 2018. We are seeing an increasing cost of claims over those years. When all of the claims are taken together, this is seen in the Department of Finance cost of insurance second motor data report. It is also seen in the Personal Injuries Commission report which was published last year. We gave all our settled claims for 2015, 2016 and 2017, and an increasing cost of claims could be seen. It could be seen that the soft tissue award claims were 4.5 times higher than they were in the UK.

Those two reports, the Department of Finance report and the Personal Injuries Commission report, look at all the claims together and show an increasing cost of claims. There is a correlation between the increasing cost of claims and the increasing cost of premiums. It is necessary to take all of the claims together, rather than zero in on different parts of the claims market.