Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

170. To ask the Minister for Finance the impact of the personal injuries guidelines on awards granted by PIAB; the way that the guidelines have impacted awards granted through the courts; the number and percentage of cases which are settled outside the courts but which still go through a solicitor rather than PIAB; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60174/22]

Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

172. To ask the Minister for Finance the proportion of motor insurance injury claims that have been settled through PIAB to date in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60176/22]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 170 and 172 together.

Insurance reform is a key priority for the Government, and is being driven by the implementation of the Action Plan for Insurance Reform. One of the principal actions from the Action Plan has been the implementation of the new Personal Injuries Guidelines, in April 2021. 

These have significantly lowered award levels for many common injuries. The latest data from the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB), which covers January to June this year, indicates that the overall average award has reduced by almost 40 per cent compared to 2020, when the previous Book of Quantum was still in use. Accordingly, consistent implementation of the Guidelines should lead to a reduction in the cost of claims, which is the main driver of the cost of insurance. 

On the impact of the Guidelines in the courts, it is still very early days in this regard. It can take several years for injury claims to settle and thus it will take time before cases examined under the previous Book of Quantum fully pass-through the system. Indeed, the most recent Private Motor National Claims Information Database (NCID) report – released in November – notes that only 1 per cent of claims litigated in 2021 were settled under the Guidelines. The Government expects this figure to increase in the coming years and will track its development using the NCID.

In terms of motor insurance injury claims settled in and outside the PIAB, the most recent NCID report shows that, in 2021:

- 35 per cent of claimants settled directly (representing 22 per cent of claims costs);

- 15 per cent of claimants settled via the PIAB (representing 11 per cent of claims costs); and

- 30 per cent of claimants settled via litigation (representing 67 per cent of claims costs).

Figures for 2022 – including the proportion of motor insurance injury claims that have been settled through PIAB to date, as requested by the Deputy – are not yet available but will be in future NCID reports. However, the PIAB’s own data shows that in the first half of 2022, it received 8,989 applications, covering all claim types (motor, employer liability, public liability).

The NCID reports have consistently shown that, for claimants, there is very little difference in the awards recommended by the PIAB against those by the courts. The main difference is legal costs, which are substantially lower via the PIAB. The NCID has shown that the vast bulk of claims – 94 per cent – of injury claims amount to less than €100,000. In the period 2015-2021 for these claims, average compensation and legal costs were as follows:

- Where settled directly, average compensation was €13,933 and average legal costs €1,568;

- Where settled via PIAB, average compensation was €21,856 and average legal costs €686; and

- Where settled via litigation, average compensation was €24,174 and average legal costs were €15,567.

Therefore, it is the Government’s intention to have more claims settle at PIAB stage and that is why we have prioritised the Personal Injuries Resolution Board Bill 2022, which will strengthen the Personal Injuries Assessment Board to ensure more cases settle at that stage instead of proceeding to costlier litigation. This Bill, which is currently before the Seanad, is under the responsibility of the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.