Mr. Aidan Connaughton:

We have responded positively. I will give an example. We had just under 700 claims settled in AIG between April and November 2021. Of those claims, only 86 went through the Personal Injuries Assessment Board settlement process. Of those 86 claims, we have a 70% rejection rate on motor claims and about a 40% rejection rate on liability claims. There is a concern about the elevated level of rejection.

The other item to address is that we have circa 50% of the claims in litigation. Evidenced by that, it will take longer for those claims to wash through and for us to see the deeper results of the reduced awards from the judicial guidelines. According to the last NCID report, the average claim settlement in PIAB is about €24,000 while in litigation it is about €24,000 in those lower level claims. However, the legal costs associated with PIAB are €800 while those associated with litigation are 20 times higher.

As I mentioned in my opening statement, it is important that if the award is rejected in PIAB, within three months we move to a binding arbitration within PIAB to identify whether that was a fair award or change it and bring the settlement through much quicker. Expediting the settlement and giving more powers to PIAB would be an even more positive step than what is there today.