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The Alliance brings together a range of civic and business organisations from across Ireland in highlighting the negative impact of persistently high premiums and calling for real reforms that will quickly reduce liability and motor insurance premiums to affordable levels and keep them that way.
PRESS RELEASE
31 July 2023
- Alliance for Insurance Reform launches its Enough is Enough campaign to mark the commencement of legislation rebalancing the duty of care between occupiers and the public.
- “The new legislation will only work if it is implemented in the spirit it was intended by the judiciary, insurers, the legal profession, and ultimately, by the Irish public.”
- Unjustifiable personal injury claims are made where there is no negligence. It is often assumed that these claims are victimless, with insurance companies picking up the bill. The reality is that insurers simply pass the cost on to policyholders – voluntary and community groups, charities, sports and cultural organisations, small businesses and the State.
The Alliance for Insurance Reform welcomes the commencement of legislation aimed at rebalancing the duty of care between occupiers and the public. Speaking today, Alliance Board member and CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport, Mary O’Connor said: “The legislation rebalances the duty of care in a way that is fair, practical and proportionate. The new legislation will only work if it is implemented in the spirit it was intended by the judiciary, insurers, the legal profession, and ultimately, by the Irish public.”
So tomorrow the Alliance is launching its ‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’ campaign, calling for an end to unjustifiable personal injury claims that are damaging Irish society. The Alliance recognises the importance of a robust personal injury system to compensate those who have been injured due to the negligence of others in a way that is fair and proportionate. That is why liability insurance is there.
Too often however, unjustifiable personal injury claims are made where there is no negligence. It is often assumed that these claims are victimless, with insurance companies picking up the bill. The reality is that insurers simply pass the cost on to policyholders – voluntary and community groups, charities, sports and cultural organisations, small businesses and the State – who also spend enormous amounts of time and effort defending such claims.
Alliance Board member and owner of Kidspace play centres in Rathfarnham and Rathcoole, Tracy Sheridan, said: “Every person at one time or another has heard a story of somebody getting compensation and our reaction had been that what happened was entirely their own fault. These awards come at a cost in the form of higher insurance premiums. As a society we need to say ‘stop’, as unwarranted claims are not a victimless pursuit.”
That is one of the main reasons Ireland pays many multiples of other countries in insurance costs and it undermines the fabric of Irish society. This is not sustainable and the road we need to travel is clear:
- Unjustifiable personal injury claims must stop.
- Lawyers must stop facilitating them.
- Doctors and other experts must stop facilitating them.
- Insurers must stop settling them. Settling dubious claims in a stable insurance market may be justifiable, but not in a reforming market like Ireland, where continuing to settle will undermine the reforms.
- The Judiciary must interpret the new legislation in the spirit in which it was intended by the Legislature.
Justice Minister, Helen McEntee said “These measures strike a new and reasonable balance between the responsibilities of the owner or operator of a premises to keep their customers and visitors safe, and what individuals themselves must do when entering a business, club or community building for example. The passage of this legislation marks an important step in our efforts to make insurance more available and cheaper.”[1]
From the perspective of voluntary and community groups, charities, sports and cultural organisations as well as small businesses, the message is clear: Enough is Enough!
—ENDS—
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: contact@insurancereform.ie or Alliance CEO, Brian Hanley at 086 8620 974.
Notes:
- The Alliance for Insurance Reform brings together 48 civic and business organisations from across Ireland, representing over 55,000 members, 700,000 employees, 614,000 volunteers and 374,000 students in highlighting the negative impact of persistently high premiums and calling for real reforms that will quickly reduce liability and motor insurance premiums to affordable levels and keep them that way.
- The commenced legislation contains four key developments regarding Occupiers’ Duty of Care:
- Inserting into primary law a number of recent court decisions which rebalance the duty of care owed by occupiers to visitors and recreational users. These changes include Courts having regard to the care visitors may reasonably be expected to have for their own safety in all the circumstances, the probability of an accident occurring, the severity of any injury that might occur and the cost of eliminating the risk. The standard of care occupiers must show has to be adapted to the conditions and the social utility of what is being provided should also be considered.
- Changing the standard of care owed by the occupier in relation to the existence of a hazard on their property from one of reasonable knowledge to that of acting recklessly in relation to the hazard.
- Limits to the circumstances in which a court can impose liability on the occupier of a premises where a person has entered onto premises for the purpose of committing an offence; and
- Allowing for a broad range of scenarios where it can be shown that a visitor or customer has voluntarily assumed a risk resulting in harm. Prior to this legislative change written agreements were required. now the occupier may be relieved of liability by means other than a written agreement.
- Recent press clippings:
- Waitress (24) awarded €25,000 in damages after wine glass broke while polishing
- Court overturns €56,000 award over glass jug filled with hot water shattering
- Woman’s €62,500 award over fall on Tramore Promenade overturned
- Boy who hurt finger at birthday party settles court action for €50,000
- Woman who banged her knee against table leg at restaurant awarded €20k
- Australian tourist wins €67,000 over fall at National Museum
- Woman who ‘slipped on rose petals’ settles case
- Woman who slipped on chip awarded €40,000
- Man who broke wrist on boxing machine awarded €30,000
- Woman scalded while making tea awarded €56,000 by court
The Occupiers Liability Act applies to children who are old enough to understand a risk and to younger children via their parents or guardians as well:
- Healy-Rae Jnr got €16,500 compensation from GAA after ‘clash of heads’
- Baby who suffered burns when he pulled soup onto himself settles case for €41,000
- Compensation of €975,000 for ‘silly act’ in playground
- Girl injured at leisure centre settles case for €78,000
- Boy (2) who cut eye off sharp object on pharmacy shelf awarded €22k
- Girl who fractured ankle as she jumped off trampoline settles action for €35,000
- Boy (8) who injured finger at RTÉ concert awarded €75,000
- Reforms to date:
- In March 2021, the Judicial Guidelines were introduced, replacing the Book of Quantum for the assessment of awards in personal injury cases. The Guidelines provided more detailed guidance in the assessment of awards and have contributed significantly to reducing awards to levels seen in other European countries by more accurately ascribing specific values to specific claims.
- A Garda National Insurance Fraud Unit has been established. According to the CSO, there were 98 insurance fraud cases recorded by An Garda Síochána in 2022, compared to 18,453 personal injury claims in the same year. That is half of one percent yet insurers have regularly insisted that up to 20pc of claims are fraudulent. Insurers expect An Garda Síochána to step up to the mark in preventing it, but with very few exceptions, they are not prepared to invest in detection or reporting themselves.
- The volume of claims and size of awards have dropped considerably in recent years without any noticeable improvement in public liability premiums:
- The total number of personal injury claims submitted to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) continues to fall. It is now down by 46% between 2016 and 2022.
- The average PIAB public liability assessment is -39% compared to the average 2020 assessment under the old Book of Quantum.
- The recently published (July 2023) NCID mid-year data report on public liability by the Central Bank found a 12% reduction in the total cost of settled injury claims to H1 2022 from the 2015-2019 pre-Covid average.
[1] https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/6b16c-minister-mcentee-welcomes-the-passage-of-bill-giving-effect-to-major-insurance-reforms/#:~:text=Minister%20McEntee%20said%3A,or%20community%20building%20for%20example.
PRESS RELEASE
EMBARGOED UNTIL 11AM, THURSDAY 13 JULY 2023
- Alliance welcomes publication of the NCID Liability Insurance Report
- With the cost of settlements down 12% insurers cannot continue to delay premium reductions and increases would be unconscionable
- Legal fees per case are increasing across all channels with a 57% increase for claims settled directly, 17% increase for those settled through PIAB and 9% for the cases that are settled through litigation
- Legal fees account for almost 38% of settlement costs in 86% of cases – a cost that goes directly to the cost of insurance.
The Alliance for Insurance Reform welcomes the publication by the Central Bank of the 1st Mid-Year NCID Employers’ and Public Liability Insurance Report.
Commenting on the release of the report, Michael Magner, owner of the Vienna Woods Hotel in Cork and board member of the Alliance for Insurance Reform said: ‘the data contained in this report allows for a meaningful analysis of the liability insurance sector in Ireland as the Judicial Guidelines take effect. This is critical as liability insurance premiums are all too often a crippling cost for small businesses, voluntary and community groups, sports and cultural organisations and charities.’
He continued: ‘The total cost of settling liability claims is down by 12% due to a reduction in the volume of settled claims and the average cost of settling them. Importantly, it appears that insurers are sticking to the Judicial Guidelines in terms of direct settlements. In light of these reductions there is a compelling argument to pass on savings to liability policy holders without any further delay and any premium increases would simply be unconscionable.’
The Alliance calls on the Minister for Finance Michael McGrath and the Minister of State Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (who holds particular responsibility for insurance) to ‘hold insurers feet to the fire’ on this and deliver the long overdue premium reductions.
The NCID figures also reveal that legal fees account for 38% of the total cost of litigated personal injury settlements in Ireland – a cost that goes directly to the cost of insurance.[1] The report also indicates that legal fees per case are increasing across all channels since 2020 with a 57% increase for claims settled directly, 17% increase for those settled through PIAB and 9% for cases settled through litigation (the majority of cases).[2] Alliance Board member Michael Magner called on the Minister for Justice ‘to expedite the ongoing review of legal fees[3] and take all necessary steps to ensure a meaningful and sustainable reduction in legal fees.’
—ENDS—
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: contact@insurancereform.ie or Alliance CEO, Brian Hanley at 086 8620 974.
[1] See Table 11, p. 20 of the NCID report.
[2] See Table 11, p.20 of the NCID report.
[3] https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2023/0601/1386761-insurance-campaigners-seek-overdue-report-on-legal-fees/
Justice Plan 2022, p.28
PRESS RELEASE
29th June 2023
For immediate release
- Change in the duty of care marks a significant rebalancing of the duties owed to visitors by occupiers and ensures a fairer allocation of personal responsibility across society.
- The Alliance calls for the immediate commencement of this section of the legislation so that hard-pressed policy holders can begin to see the benefits intended by it.
- Minister Carroll McNeill needs to make good on her promise of savings for policy holders.
The Alliance for Insurance Reform welcomes the passage of The Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022 through the Houses of the Oireachtas last night. This legislation includes a significant reform of the duty of care which, if commenced quickly and implemented fairly, rebalances duties owed to visitors by occupiers and ensures a fairer allocation of personal responsibility across society. We expect the new rules regarding the voluntary assumption of risk to afford protection to a whole swathe of activities where risks are willingly accepted by people well able to comprehend the nature and extent of those risks.
Flora Crowe, Alliance Board member and grocery stores owner has called for “the immediate commencement of this aspect of the legislation so that hard-pressed policy holders can begin to see the benefits intended by it”.
Having previously highlighted the number of personal injury claims in Ireland, average personal injury awards and insurance fraud as barriers to lower premiums, insurers have in recent times highlighted the need for these amendments to the duty of care as a condition for lower premiums. “Now that this legislation has completed its progress through the Oireachtas, we expect incumbent insurers to deliver lower premiums immediately as the risk associated with every new or renewed policy has just reduced significantly” Flora said.
Recently* asked when policy holders could expect to see savings arising from this change in the legislation, Minister Carroll McNeill was unequivocal:
“When that legislation goes through during the summer, I will be picking up the phone and inviting the CEOs in here to have that very direct conversation with them again. Because the legislation will be passed then, [and] there is literally no excuse after that.”
We call on the Minister to make good on this promise without delay.
*RTE Primetime, 11th May 2023 – Insurance costs crippling adventure tourism, say centre owners (rte.ie)
For further information contact: Brian Hanley, CEO, Alliance for Insurance Reform at brian@insurancereform.ie or 086 862 0974
—ENDS—
PRESS RELEASE
1st June 2023
The Government commissioned report on legal fees is now a year overdue.
Further slippage cannot be permitted given the impact high legal fees are having in driving up insurance premiums.
- “Legal costs are a key contributor to the high insurance premiums people, small businesses and voluntary groups’ face. Daily we hear about events being cancelled or organisation’s growth stifled because of these costs.”
- “After the Indecon economic report is submitted a further legal analysis is required before draft proposals are even circulated.”
- “Who is this delay benefiting? It isn’t helping motorists and it certainly isn’t helping hard pressed businesses or voluntary groups.”
- “We call on the Minister to ensure that Indecon’s report is submitted to Government without any further delay.”
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has called on Government to ensure the economic assessment on legal costs it commissioned from Indecon International Economic Consultants that was due for submission this time last year[1], is submitted to it without further delay.
Flora Crowe, Alliance Board member and grocery stores owner said: “Legal costs are a key contributor to the high insurance premiums people, small businesses and voluntary groups’ face. Daily we hear about events being cancelled or organisation’s growth stifled because of these costs. We welcomed the Government’s decision to commission “An Economic Evaluation of Options to Control Litigation Costs” but cautioned that the time frame for its completion not be allowed to drift. Unfortunately, this is what has happened making it essential that the report is presented to Government without any further delay.”
She also said: “After the Indecon economic report is submitted a further legal analysis is required before draft proposals are even circulated. We note from the Justice Department that such an analysis is scheduled to take six months[2] but given the interminable delays in addressing legal costs going back more than ten years to the time of the Troika members of the Alliance are deeply concerned that this will be put on the long finger again. We call on the Justice Minister to ensure the Government’s commitments in this area are honoured.”
Alliance Board Member and owner of Kidspace play centres in Rathfarnham and Rathcoole, Tracy Sheridan asked, “Who is this delay benefiting? It isn’t helping motorists and it certainly isn’t helping hard pressed businesses or voluntary groups.”
Legal fees account for 33% of the total cost of litigated personal injury settlements in Ireland[3] – a cost that goes directly to the cost of insurance.
We call on the Minister to ensure Indecon’s report that was due for submission this time last year is submitted to it without further delay. The quality of Irish people’s lives and livelihoods is greatly impacted by the exceptionally high legal fees arising in personal injury cases and they cannot afford to wait any longer.
ENDS
For further information contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
Mobile: 086 826 6036
Notes
Legal Costs in Ireland
In 2011, as part of its rescue package, the Troika insisted on the following Structural Reforms:
“Government will introduce legislative changes to remove restrictions to trade and competition in sheltered sectors including:
- the legal profession, establishing an independent regulator for the profession and implementing the recommendations of the Legal Costs Working Group and outstanding Competition Authority recommendations to reduce legal costs.”[4]
Despite the insistence of the Troika more than a decade ago, there is no evidence that legal fees have reduced. Indeed, Central Bank analysis of legal fees for private motor insurance related personal injury claims shows that quite the contrary has happened, with legal fees increasing by 31% in the 8 years from 2015 to 2022.
The National Competitiveness Council (NCC) selected legal services costs as one of six areas of focus in its report on Ireland’s Competitiveness Challenge for 2019 and noted: “There is growing evidence to suggest that the cost of settling a claim in Ireland is: (i) more expensive than in comparable jurisdictions; and, (ii) has increased dramatically over the last number of years. These changes reflect both increases in the amounts awarded and the number of claims made.”[5]
The Alliance for Insurance Reform notes that insurance premiums for SMEs, voluntary and community groups, sports and cultural organisations and charities continue to spiral, with many organisations now struggling to get cover at all. Our ongoing policyholder survey measures the increase in average liability renewals at +14% in 2022, on top of unsustainable increases in previous years. So the work of the Minister and Department of Justice on key reforms is critical in delivering affordable insurance premiums as a matter of urgency.
Footnotes:
[1] Justice Plan 2022 p.28
[2] Justice Plan 2022 p.28
[3] See Notes
[4] European Commission Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, “The Economic Adjustment Programme for Ireland” Occasional Papers 76, p.66
[5] See pp. 267-271 of the Report on the Review of the Administration of Civil Justice for more background information on the issue of legal costs in Ireland.
___________
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION
27/04/2023
Policyholders in Republic paying many multiples what NI counterparts pay
Alliance calls on Government to get serious with insurers
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has today published a set of case studies of liability insurance premiums in the Republic and comparable operations in Northern Ireland and Germany which show the extent to which liability policyholders in the Republic of Ireland are being taken for a ride by incumbent insurers. The Alliance has called on the Government to get serious with insurers about the urgent delivery of the benefits of insurance reforms.
Examples of premiums paid for similar operations south and north of the border include:
PUB:
Northern Ireland €2,679
Republic of Ireland €17,500
Multiple 6.5 times higher in the Republic
CARAVAN PARK:
Northern Ireland €1,089
Republic of Ireland €5,245
Multiple 4.8
COMMUNITY CIRCUS CASE 1:
Northern Ireland €6,079
Republic of Ireland €39,100
Multiple 6.4
COMMUNITY CIRCUS CASE 2:
Northern Ireland €4,104
Republic of Ireland €11,995
Multiple 2.9
THATCHED COTTAGES:
Northern Ireland €749 for a new thatch building
Republic of Ireland: 1% of the value of the building, so from approximately €3,000 upwards, where insurers are willing to offer cover.
Multiple 4.0 upwards
TREE ADVENTURE PARKS – COMPARISONS WITH GERMANY
The three Zipit tree adventure parks in Farran in Cork, Tibradden in Dublin and Lough Key in Roscommon, currently pay a combined annual premium of €250,000.
Squirrels’ Scramble tree adventure park in Kilruddery, Bray currently pays €60,000 per annum in insurance.
The six Natur Bewegt tree adventure parks in Germany pay €3,000 between them.
Multiple: 20.0 to 27.7
According to Bill Cremin, Managing Director of Zipit, “One of our German colleagues said recently that what we pay for insurance would cover the insurance costs of the entire sector (high ropes specifically) in Germany”.
(Ref: RTE Adventure tourism firms face closure due to high insurance costs).There are approximately 140 such businesses in Germany.
In the same RTE article, President of the European Confederation of Outdoor Employers Jean Yves Lapeyère is quoted as saying that “The issue of having to stop trading, because the insurance is too expensive is exclusive to Ireland.” He said that “In no country do we hear of outdoor companies having to stop trading because their premium is too high.” “The problem at this level is Irish, 100% Irish,” he added.
(Ref: RTE Adventure tourism firms face closure due to high insurance costs).
NOTE: All policy premiums are for combined public liability, employer liability and property insurance. All figures in Euros. Sterling converted at €1.13. Case studies are for similar sized and structured businesses in similar locations. Most organisations that participated in the case studies were not willing to reveal their identity. In the Republic, this was because they are down to one underwriter and are afraid of repercussions if they reveal their identity. In the North, it was down to a reluctance to publicly engage in “the Republic’s problem”.
In general, Irish organisations are recognised by their European counterparts to have top-class risk management and health and safety systems in place.
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “Huge effort has gone into insurance reform by Government, the Opposition, the Judiciary, An Garda Síochána and policyholders. But insurers, both underwriters and brokers, are pocketing the benefits. Indeed, liability insurance premiums are actually continuing to increase despite the reforms being delivered, with an average premium increase of 14% recorded in our ongoing members’ survey in 2022.
“Government is tiptoeing around insurers, afraid of upsetting them in case they leave the market. In reality, the high-profile insurer casualties of recent years have been down to issues such as mismanagement, incompetence, Brexit and corporate priorities, not market conditions. It is time for Government to get the gloves off with the incumbent insurers, get more competition into the market and put measures in place to cover sectors that insurers are simply not interested in covering. This limbo policyholders are in right now, as we wait interminably for reforms to kick in, must come to an end. Otherwise, Government will have dropped the low-hanging fruit, the one crisis that is close to being resolved. One that they have worked hard on but failed to deliver. The Alliance shares the view of the Taoiseach that ‘The success of the (Government Action) plan will be measured by the reduction in premiums and improved competition’, and insurers must play their part in delivering to that commitment.”
ENDS
____________________
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION
03/11/2022
Alliance welcomes latest PIAB personal injury report
Credibility of insurance reform process damaged as liability insurers pocket benefits
- The total number of personal injury claims in the country has been falling dramatically since peaking in 2016; the 2022 total will be the lowest in over 15 years1
- Overall, the average award in Jan-Jun 2022 was €14,786, 38% lower than before Judicial Guidelines were implemented
- PIAB reports average acceptance rate of awards has risen to 48%, up from 36% in May 2021
- Liability insurance premiums continue to increase
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has called on Government to get serious with the insurance industry following confirmation from the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) that the new Judicial Personal Injuries Guidelines continue to have a very positive and improving impact on personal injury claims costs.
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance, said “We welcome today’s report from PIAB showing serious reductions in the total number of personal injury claims, the average awards and the numbers of claimants heading to litigation. Liability insurers are pocketing these benefits and it is up to Government to get serious with them to ensure that the benefits are passed on in premium reductions to SMEs, voluntary and community groups, charities and sports and cultural organisations struggling with the costs of staying open.”
Tracy Sheridan, owner of Kidspace play centres in Rathfarnham and Rathcoole and director of the Alliance said “Insurers have repeatedly and consistently maintained to the Cost of Insurance Working Group, the Personal Injuries Commission, the Oireachtas Finance Committee and elsewhere that the cost of claims drives the cost of premiums2. This analysis has been verified by the Central Bank’s National Claims Information Database3. The reforms implemented by Government and the Judiciary mean that the claims costs and future risk associated with every motor and liability policy in Ireland have reduced sharply since early 2021. This is being reflected in the competitive motor insurance market, but liability insurance premiums are actually going upwards, tracking +16% in our rolling renewals research.”
Eoin McCambridge, Director of the Alliance said “Insurers are taking liability policyholders and the Government for a ride and damaging the credibility of the Government’s insurance reform programme. From a policyholder perspective, it appears that all the gains being delivered are being used to improve underwriter profitability and bankroll the takeover frenzy in the insurance broker sector. Government must hold insurers to account to ensure that the gains from the Judicial Guidelines and other reforms are passed on immediately and in full. While Government frequently tells us that they cannot dictate premium prices, Government has enormous soft power over the insurance sector, a sector which needs our Government to allow it to function profitably. Additionally, the Department of Finance established an Insurance Competition Office in 2020 but has not yet succeeded in attracting additional underwriting capacity into the market. This office must begin yielding results soon as additional competition is the best way of keeping insurers honest.”
In conclusion Peter Boland said “The challenges of staying open for Irish SMEs, voluntary and community groups, charities and sports and cultural organisations have never been greater in our nation’s recent history. Of all these challenges, the insurance crisis is the one closest to being solved by Government. Insurers must act in good faith on the progress already made.”
ENDS
NOTES:
1 “The total number of claims in the country has been falling dramatically since peaking in 2016; the 2022 total will be the lowest in over 15 years”
The total number of claims received by PIAB in the first half of 2022 was 8,989, down from 13,569 in the first half of 2021. PIAB forecasts that the total number of 2022 claims will be lower than for 2021.
Total year figures since 2007 are as follows:
CLAIMS RECEIVED BY PIAB | ||
2021 | 21,410 | -18% |
2020 | 26,009 | -16% |
2019 | 31,072 | -7% |
2018 | 33,371 | 1% |
2017 | 33,114 | -3% |
2016 | 34,056 | 1% |
2015 | 33,561 | 6% |
2014 | 31,576 | 1% |
2013 | 31,311 | 6% |
2012 | 29,603 | 7% |
2011 | 27,669 | 3% |
2010 | 26,964 | 4% |
2009 | 25,919 | 5% |
2008 | 24,722 | 6% |
2007 | 23,323 |
2 “Insurers repeatedly maintained to the Cost of Insurance Working Group, the Personal Injuries Commission, the Oireachtas Finance Committee and elsewhere that the cost of claims drives premium costs.”
The insurance industry and other stakeholders have consistently pointed to increased claims inflation and claims frequency in recent years as the primary reason for the rise in cost of insurance. P42, Cost of Insurance Working Group REPORT ON THE COST OF MOTOR INSURANCE
Insurance Ireland representatives on the PIC have repeatedly stated that, as award levels and associated costs account for the bulk of the cost of insurance, if claims costs come down and are maintained at a consistent and predictable level then premiums will also reduce accordingly. P4, Second and Final Report of the Personal Injuries Commission, July 2018
3 “This analysis has been verified by the Central Bank’s National Claims Information Database Private Motor Insurance Reports”
See Alliance for Insurance Reform Fact Sheet No. 2 “Who Gets What?” graphic using NCID data.
For further information contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
_____________________
PRESS RELEASE
WEDNESDAY 22nd JUNE 2022
Alliance welcomes publication of the 2nd NCID Liability Insurance Report
Says insurers cannot continue to delay premium reductions
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed the publication by the Central Bank of the 2nd NCID Employers’ Liability, Public Liability, and Commercial Property Insurance Report.
Peter Boland, director of the Alliance said “The data the NCID publishes is pivotal to analysis of the Irish insurance market. Having said that, there is currently an 18-month lag in the liability data. So, while the data trends in this report on 2020 are consistent with the trends in the 2019 report, with the exception of a short-term Covid-19 related impact on property insurance due to business interruption claims, of more significance are the developments since 2020, in particular the implementation of the Judicial Guidelines in April 2021, the recent High Court decisions supporting those Guidelines, combined with the sharp downward trend in total personal injury claims in recent years.
Insurers cannot continue to delay delivering reduced premiums. Otherwise, all the benefits of the reforms currently being processed, and the recent High Court decisions, flow directly into their back pockets as profit. We expect substantial reductions to the cost of liability cover and further, proportionate reductions to motor insurance premiums immediately.
ENDS
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: contact@insurancereform.ie
____________________
PRESS RELEASE
02/06/2022
Alliance welcomes High Court judgement on Judicial Guidelines
Says insurers must now deliver their part of the bargain
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed today’s High Court judgement* dismissing the lead challenge to the Judicial Guidelines on all grounds.
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said ”We welcome the decision in this case. It is now up to lawyers, plaintiffs, insurers and the judiciary to respect the Judicial Guidelines and for insurers to deliver their part of the bargain by passing on the benefits of this critical reform in substantial reductions to the cost of liability cover and further, proportionate reductions to motor insurance costs. “
ENDS
NOTES:
REF: * THE HIGH COURT. JUDICIAL REVIEW [2021 No. 641 JR] BETWEEN BRIDGET DELANEY AND THE PERSONAL INJURIES ASSESSMENT BOARD, THE JUDICIAL COUNCIL, IRELAND AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
For further information contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
____________________
PRESS RELEASE
21/04/2022
On first anniversary of Judicial Guidelines, insurance costs continue to climb
42% of organisations say insurance premiums threatening their future
As delays dog reforms, Alliance says Government can fix this but only if they move fast
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has marked the first anniversary of the implementation of the Judicial Guidelines for personal injury awards by publishing the results of a major new survey showing that:
- 42% of organisations say that insurance premiums are threatening their future
- 90% say Government is not doing enough to address the issue of insurance costs
In addition, an ongoing survey of insurance premium renewals confirms that liability premiums continue to increase by 16%.
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “Personal injury damages are by far the biggest component of the cost of insurance and the Judicial Guidelines implemented on 24th April 2021 introduced significant reductions in the level of damages for minor injuries. So it is worth reflecting on the impact of those reductions one year on.
“While they are having an impact on motor premiums, they are clearly not having an impact on the liability premiums paid by businesses, voluntary and community groups, sports and cultural organisations and charities. Our ongoing research shows liability insurance renewals trending at +16% and the research we carried out over the last 3 weeks shows that 73% of organisations have also had additional excesses or exclusions imposed on their policies since 2019. Insurers are simply not passing on the benefits of recent reforms to liability insurance policyholders. Equally, other reforms that would impact on liability premiums are not happening fast enough.”
Eoin McCambridge, Managing Director of McCambridge’s of Galway and Director of the Alliance said “As a result of the continuing spiral in liability premiums, 90% in our survey say that Government is not doing enough to address the issue of insurance costs. To restore policyholder faith in the process, Government must do everything in their power to make sure incumbent insurers pass on the benefits of reforms. They must move quicker on getting additional competition into the market. They must speed up promised reforms. In particular, they must now deliver very quickly on the delayed rebalancing of the duty of care and the delayed reform of PIAB. Ultimately they must get liability insurance premiums down to affordable levels with reforms that keep them that way.”
In terms of the key reforms required to address insurance costs, the following is an update:
- The implementation of the Judicial Guidelines on 24th April 2021 has seen the value of assessments by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board tumble by 42% compared to those using the old Book of Quantum. However, the acceptance rate of these assessments has reduced from 50% to 37% as more claimants move to litigation. So the attitude of insurers who settle the vast majority of litigated liability claims before they get to court, and the approach of the judiciary once such claims finally get to court, will be extremely influential on the success or otherwise of the Guidelines. We do not have any data on settlements via either of these channels and are unlikely to have any until the publication of the Central Bank’s next NCID Private Motor Insurance Report in October.
Additionally, the Judicial Guidelines have been hit by multiple constitutional challenges as lawyers attempt to derail them and we await the judgement on the first lead challenge from the High Court, possibly in June.
- Rebalancing duty of care obligations, which often places an unfair, absolute responsibility on occupiers while exempting claimants of any responsibility for their own safety, was committed to in the Cabinet Sub-Group on Insurance Reform Action Plan of December 2020. A deadline of June 2021 was put in place for “proposals to Government to implement any changes deemed necessary”. However, these proposals have still not been submitted to Government.
- Legislation to reform PIAB is moving slowly through pre-legislative scrutiny. While the Alliance welcomes much of the content of the draft legislation, an “enhanced role” for PIAB was scheduled for June 2021 by the Cabinet Sub-Group on Insurance Reform so this initiative is now well behind schedule.
- An office within Government to encourage greater competition in the insurance market was established in December 2020 but has still not announced any additional market entries.
Tracy Sheridan, owner of Kidspace play centres in Rathfarnham and Rathcoole and director of the Alliance said “Of all the major challenges facing Ireland right now, insurance is the one that Government can fix quickest. But reforms are not moving fast enough, and policyholders cannot wait much longer for them to be put in place. Government has a golden opportunity to sort out the cost of insurance now and forever, but only if they get reforms done now, before the opportunity is lost.”
ENDS
NOTE:
The new survey was carried out among Alliance for Insurance Reform members between 5th and 20th April 2022.
There were 954 respondents.
Insurance in the context of this survey refers primarily to Public and Employer Liability insurance.
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PRESS RELEASE
29/03/2022
Alliance welcomes publication of reform timelines in Justice Plan 2022
Urges Minister for Justice to avoid reform slippage
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed the publication of the Department of Justice’s Justice Plan 2022 including timelines for a number of key reforms relevant to the Irish insurance market. In particular, the Plan undertakes to:
- “Publish amendment to the Occupiers’ Liability Act in regard to the actions required of an occupier to meet the common duty of care, and in relation to the voluntary assumption of risk by visitors”
- “Publish, subject to legal assessment, economic research on models to reduce legal costs”
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “We note that while the Action regarding duty of care in the Report itself is not as detailed as we might have hoped for, the accompanying press release states that the Minister for Justice will “Continue to tackle the cost of insurance by bringing forward new legislation on the duty of care as part of the Civil Law Miscellaneous Provisions Bill, due to be published in the coming weeks.” We welcome the timeline suggested in this statement and urge the Minister to ensure the enactment of the legislation does not slip beyond 2022.
“Additionally, we note a potential 6-month delay between the completion of economic research on models to reduce legal costs and the publication of that research. Again, we urge the Minister to ensure it is published this year.
“Finally, we welcome mentions of mediation and the fraud database in the Plan and await the outcomes of this work.
“Insurance premiums for SMEs, voluntary and community groups, sports and cultural organisations and charities continue to spiral, with many organisations now struggling to get cover at all. Our ongoing policyholder survey measures the increase in average liability renewals at +16%, on top of unsustainable increases in previous years. So the work of the Minister and Department of Justice on key reforms is critical in delivering affordable insurance premiums as a matter of urgency.”
ENDS
For further information contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
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PRESS RELEASE
02/03/2022
Alliance welcomes extension of Cabinet Insurance Reform group into 2022 as premiums continue to spiral
Asks Tánaiste to publish timelines for outstanding key reforms
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed the decision by the Tánaiste to extend the work of the Cabinet Sub Group on Insurance Reform into 2022, announced on the publication of the second implementation report of the Action Plan for Insurance Reform.
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “Insurance premiums for SMEs, voluntary and community groups, sports and cultural organisations and charities continue to spiral, with many organisations now struggling to get cover at all. Our ongoing policyholder survey measures the increase in average liability renewals at +16%, on top of unsustainable increases in previous years. In the meantime, key reforms have not been completed so it is critical that the Cabinet Sub-Group keep working and see this issue through by delivering affordable insurance premiums.
“However, we have a serious concern that the key outstanding reforms, on rebalancing the duty of care, reforming the Personal Injuries Assessment Board and resolving the national claims database, all of which are well behind schedule, do not have revised, specific timelines attached to them. If there are no timelines, there is no accountability, so we would ask the Tánaiste, in his role as Chair of the Cabinet Sub Group on Insurance Reform, to update the Implementation Report with specific timelines on these key reforms.
“Further, while the Office to Promote Competition in the Insurance Market is heralded as a ‘new departure’, it is in operation since December 2020 and has not delivered meaningful additional competition. Incumbent insurers have not delivered reductions on the back of the significant reforms implemented so far and it is up to Government to ensure more competition is brought into the Irish insurance market now and that no sector is left behind, unable to get cover.”
ENDS
For further information contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
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PRESS RELEASE
09/02/2022
Alliance welcomes progress in PIAB reform legislation
Highlights risks and missed opportunities in draft legislation
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has given a guarded welcome to draft legislation published today by the Department of Enterprise to reform the Personal Injuries Assessment Board but highlighted risks and missed opportunities and urged the Government to continue the PIAB reform process into the future.
Key elements of the draft legislation include:
- The extension of PIAB responsibilities to cover assessment of psychological injuries, more complex injuries and those taking longer to resolve themselves
- The addition of mediation to the PIAB process
- A new fraud detection role
- Extensive new data collection responsibilities
Key elements missing from the draft legislation include:
- The development of PIAB into a body empowered with adjudicating on claims, with no need to go to litigation except in limited circumstances
- The establishment of an independent national claims database for use in encouraging competition and preventing fraud.
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “PIAB is essential as a means of processing personal injury claims quickly and cheaply to the benefit of plaintiffs and defendants alike. While we will always welcome legislation that develops and enhances the role of PIAB, the draft legislation published today only goes part of the way, come with some risks and misses out on two great opportunities.”
“The extension of PIAB responsibilities to cover assessment of psychological injuries, more complex injuries and those taking longer to resolve themselves is most welcome. Likewise, the new fraud detection role and broadened data generation responsibilities.
“However, the introduction of mediation must not be allowed to create additional delays or add costs to the PIAB process.“
Eoin McCambridge, Managing Director of McCambridge’s of Galway and Director of the Alliance said “It is disappointing that today’s proposed legislation does not allow PIAB to adjudicate on claims. This is a missed opportunity. PIAB has vast experience with regard to personal injuries, accumulated over 17 years of processing virtually every claim in the country. Indeed, they now process and assess way more claims than the Judiciary, as very few cases ever get into a courtroom. But far too many of the claims they process move on to needless litigation. And as has been illustrated time and time again now by the Central Bank’s NCID, the only beneficiaries of litigation in personal injury claims are solicitors and barristers, with the acquiescence of insurers. So it makes absolute sense for society that the vast majority of claims be settled at PIAB and while today’s draft legislation will bring us some of the way, it must be followed by ongoing reviews, to be allowed for in the final legislation, ultimately bringing us to a situation where PIAB can adjudicate on most claims. The Government cannot tick the box and move on – reform of PIAB must be an ongoing process.”
Peter Boland said “A claims database available to all insurers and other legitimately interested parties is essential to allow them to protect policyholders from fraudulent claims and to ensure fair competition. However, InsuranceLink, the only such database in Ireland, is owned and controlled by insurer body Insurance Ireland for the benefit of its members. The European Commission has made a preliminary finding that Insurance Ireland delayed or denied access to InsuranceLink to non-member insurers, placing them at a competitive disadvantage. We again urge Government to take the database into State control this year, ideally through PIAB. “
Tracy Sheridan, owner of Kidspace play centres in Rathfarnham and Rathcoole and director of the Alliance said “While these reforms were clearly drafted in the public interest, they will be trenchantly resisted by elements of the legal profession, determined to resist what will be seen as a threat to their revenue streams. PIAB has been subject to such resistance, through lobbying and legal challenges, since it was established in 2004; and so have the new guidelines on personal injury awards implemented last year by the Judicial Council. Government must see that resistance for what it is and act in the interest of society as a whole.”
ENDS
For further details or any queries, contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
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PRESS RELEASE
07/02/2022
Alliance for Insurance Reform welcomes its latest member
National Community Care Network cites unaffordable insurance and exclusion clauses as key issues
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed its latest member, the National Community Care Network (NCCN).
NCCN represents and supports home care providers in the not-for-profit and social enterprise sectors. NCCN is funded predominantly by the HSE. It has 20 members whose primary role is the delivery of quality home care to older persons in the community, with some members also operating day centres and meals on wheels services. NCCN members employ approximately 3,000 trained carers and deliver some 2,500,000 care hours to 7,000 clients across the country.
Fiacre Hensey, CEO of the National Community Care Network said “While securing competitively priced insurance had already become an issue for the home care sector pre-Covid, the introduction of exclusion clauses specifically for Covid cover has threatened the survival of home care providers. Government needs to act to prevent the collapse of this critical social service. By joining the Alliance for Insurance Reform, NCCN hopes to add strength to the campaign to effect a major review and overhaul of insurance in Ireland.”
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “We warmly welcome the NCCN to our Alliance, but it is frustrating that an organisation focused on providing such essential services in the community should feel the need to join our campaign. Insurance should not be on their agenda. We call on the Government to urgently accelerate the pace of insurance reform so that NCCN members can focus on doing what they were established to do.
” In particular, we ask that Government prioritise the following real reforms:
- Seek additional underwriting capacity for the Irish market, including the voluntary sector, to improve competition and insure sectors that currently cannot get cover.
- Review and re-balance the “common duty of care” to require occupiers to take a duty of care that is reasonable, practical and proportionate.
- Reform and strengthen PIAB
- Insist on insurers delivering immediate reductions for delivered and planned reform.”
The Alliance now brings together 47 civic and business organisations from across Ireland, representing over 55,000 members, 700,000 employees, 622,000 volunteers and 374,000 students in highlighting the negative impact of persistently high premiums and calling for real reforms that will quickly reduce liability and motor insurance premiums to affordable levels and keep them that way.
ENDS
For further details or any queries, contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
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PRESS RELEASE
25/01/2022
Insurance policyholders react with dismay as reforms sidelined
“Government is in danger of turning an open goal into an own goal”
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has reacted with dismay to the publication of the Government’s Spring 2022 legislative programme without any reference to promised key legislation on insurance reform.
Peter Boland, director of the Alliance said “The Governments Sub Group on Insurance Reform, chaired by Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, promised the general scheme of a Bill on duty of care by September 2021″1. We have still not seen that Bill and today’s announcement means that we are unlikely to see any meaningful progress on this critical issue during 2022.”
Tracy Sheridan, owner of Kidspace play centres in Rathfarnham and Rathcoole and director of the Alliance said “Too often, ‘occupiers’ (homeowners, SMEs, charities, sports organisations, event organisers) are now regularly assumed to have an absolute duty of care when it comes to ‘visitors’ (customers, clients and others), while the concept of personal responsibility has been significantly diminished. For the sake of every household and organisation in the country, the duty of care must be urgently rebalanced in a manner that is fair, reasonable, practical, and proportionate and in the public interest.” 2
Eoin McCambridge, Managing Director of McCambridge’s of Galway and director of the Alliance said “The Government acknowledged the seriousness of the insurance crisis in establishing the Cabinet Sub-Group for Insurance Reform in 2020, chaired by the Tánaiste and including many of the key Ministers and Ministers of State involved in this issue. After some initial progress on reforms such as the Judicial Guidelines, today’s announcement confirms our fear that the Sub-Group is regressing to a box-ticking exercise, recently claiming that ‘34 actions out of 66 have been completed’ when what is needed is an intense focus on meaningful reforms like rebalancing the duty of care.“
Peter Boland said “As well as the missed opportunity on duty of care, the Government has long-fingered the promised reform of PIAB onto the “All other Legislation” list, which means further delays on legislation originally promised for July 20213. So, the only piece of legislation regarding general insurance in the Spring 2022 programme is the Insurance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill which is essentially an administrative Bill.
“The need for urgent insurance reform has been universally acknowledged for 6 years now and the key reforms have long been identified. By missing key timelines, the Government is in danger of turning an open goal into an own goal. We call on the Department of Justice and the Tánaiste in his role as Chair of the Cabinet Sub Group on Insurance Reform to remove whatever barriers are delaying the duty of care legislation and fast track it, so it is implemented as quickly as possible.”
Tracy Sheridan said “We cannot recover from Covid-19 as an economy or a society unless insurance is sorted. Government must move aggressively to resolve it, rebalancing the duty of care and bringing much greater underwriting capacity into the market to ensure that insurance costs are reduced to affordable levels and kept that way.”
ENDS
NOTES:
- Page 12, Government Action Plan for Insurance Reform Implementation Report, July 2021 https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/c1619-action-plan-for-insurance-reform-implementation-report-july-2021/
- For more on the issue of rebalancing the Duty of Care, check out our Blog at https://insurancereform.ie/2020/02/08/what-is-the-duty-of-care-any-why-does-it-need-to-be-rebalanced
- Pages 11/12, Government Action Plan for Insurance Reform Implementation Report, July 2021 https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/c1619-action-plan-for-insurance-reform-implementation-report-july-2021/
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PRESS RELEASE
30/12/2021
Alliance publishes end of year review of Government insurance reform efforts
“If this was a school report for the Government, it would be a disappointing one”
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has published a review of the Government’s progress on insurance reform in 2021 and it does not make for great reading.
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance, said “Unfortunately, if this was a school report for the Government, it would be a disappointing one.”
“The Government acknowledged the seriousness of the insurance crisis in establishing the Cabinet Sub-Group for Insurance Reform last year, chaired by the Tánaiste and including many of the key Ministers and Ministers of State involved in this issue. After some initial progress on issues such as the Judicial Guidelines, we are concerned that the Sub-Group may be regressing to a box-ticking exercise, recently claiming that ‘34 actions out of 66 have been completed’ when what is needed is an intense focus on meaningful reforms.“
The reforms identified as meaningful by the Alliance include:
DUTY OF CARE:
For the sake of every household or organisation that has visitors, customers, participants or recreational users, the duty of care must be urgently rebalanced in a manner that is fair, reasonable, practical, and proportionate and in the public interest.
The Cabinet Committee Sub-Group on Insurance Reform published its most recent Implementation Report in July 2021. In it, the Sub-Group reported that “The Department of Justice is working on a General Scheme to give effect to the proposals (on duty of care) and expects to bring these to Government in September 2021 for approval.” However, this General Scheme has not yet been published and no revised timeline for its publication has been given, other than a worrying reassurance that proposals are “at an advanced stage”. This draft legislation must be published immediately.
REFORM OF PIAB:
The Personal Injuries Assessment Board is a sound concept rooted in the common good, intended to deliver compensation to injured parties without excessive legal costs. But it has been fundamentally undermined by numerous and ongoing challenges by the legal profession, intent on protecting a valuable income stream. As such, we welcomed the public consultation on reforming and enhancing PIAB carried out in April of this year by the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment. We believe that nothing short of radical reform is necessary to give PIAB the meaningful status it deserves. The Cabinet Sub-Group on Insurance Reform, in its July Implementation Report, stated that it was intended to publish a General Scheme of a Bill to reform PIAB in July. But we have still not seen that General Scheme. This draft legislation must be published immediately.
LEGAL FEES:
The Government appears to be moving on the eye-watering cost of legal fees, which act as a brake on much more than the fair resolution of personal injury claims in Ireland. The Department of Justice has initiated an economic and legal review of the options available to cap fees. This initiative cannot be allowed to falter on the back of the intense opposition we expect from the legal industry, intent on protecting its own vested interests.
CLAIMS DATABASE:
A claims database available to all insurers is essential to allow them to protect policyholders from fraudulent claims and to ensure fair competition. However, InsuranceLink, the only such database in Ireland, is owned and controlled by Insurance Ireland, the insurance industry representative body, for the benefit of its members. The European Commission has made a preliminary finding that Insurance Ireland delayed or denied access to InsuranceLink to non-member insurers, placing them at a competitive disadvantage.
We have urged Government to take the database into State control, ideally through PIAB, but after 4 years of discussions, we have still not seen any proposals from Government and every time they are challenged on the issue, they cite vague data protection concerns. This is simply not good enough and policyholders deserve a more positive response in 2022.
JUDICIAL GUIDELINES:
The Judicial Guidelines implemented on the 24th of April would be expected to deliver significant reductions in premiums. However, there is a real risk that any gains will be derailed by a host of court challenges to the guidelines by the legal industry; and undermined by incumbent insurers settling above the new guidelines as a financial expedient. The legal challenges are up for mention in the High Court on the 19th of January and we would expect a robust response from the State to ensure a quick and positive resolution. Equally, we expect the Department of Finance to apply intense pressure on insurers to hold firm on the new guidelines.
ADDITIONAL COMPETITION:
It is clear that additional underwriting capacity and competition are urgently needed in the Liability insurance market and while the Government’s Cabinet Sub-Group on Insurance Reform has acknowledged this, by establishing the Office for Insurance Competition in 2020, the success of this office’s work is limited so far, with nearly 40 sectors and sub-sectors unable to get affordable cover or down to their last underwriter at this stage. The Office for Insurance Competition will have to step up several gears in 2022.
LOWER INSURANCE COSTS:
The process of reacting to the reforms implemented so far (most notably the Judicial Guidelines, the Garda Insurance Fraud Coordination Office and the Perjury Act), has already begun in the motor insurance sector, where there is meaningful competition. Respondents to our ongoing policyholder survey are reporting an average 10% reduction in motor premiums on renewals since the 24th of April. In the Liability sector however, where there is markedly less competition, policyholders are experiencing average increases of 16%. Government must apply intense pressure on the incumbents to deliver reductions while we wait for additional competition to enter the market.
Tracy Sheridan, owner of Kidspace play centres in Rathfarnham and Rathcoole and director of the Alliance said “Given the money being made from the insurance crisis, it will not be solved by vested interests. Government must move aggressively to resolve it, because we cannot recover from Covid-19 as an economy or a society unless insurance is sorted.”
ENDS
For further details or any queries, contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
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PRESS RELEASE
16/12/2021
Alliance welcomes its latest member
Disability Federation says “the increasing cost of insurance is now taking from the provision of services”
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed its latest member, the Disability Federation of Ireland, DFI.
The DFI is the national support organisation for voluntary disability groups in Ireland. The DFI is funded through HSE and member direct funding and has over 100 members who range from large national organisations to local, community-based charities. Voluntary disability organisations provide the majority of disability services within Ireland today including residential, home care, respite, therapeutic, personal assistance support services and more.
John Dolan, CEO the DFI said “Rising insurance renewal premiums are a concern to organisations of voluntary disability services because they have to take money from delivering services to pay increasing insurance cost”.
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “We warmly welcome the DFI to our Alliance, but it is frustrating that an organisation so focused on providing such essential services should feel the need to join our campaign. Insurance should not be on their agenda. We call on the Government to urgently accelerate the pace of insurance reform so that DFI members can focus on doing what they were established to do.
”In particular, we ask that Government prioritise the following real reforms:
- Seek additional underwriting capacity for the Irish market, including the voluntary sector, to improve competition and insure sectors that currently cannot get cover.
- Review and re-balance the “common duty of care” to require occupiers to take a duty of care that is reasonable, practical, and proportionate.
- Reform and strengthen Personal Injuries Assessment Board, PIAB
- Insist on insurers delivering immediate reductions for delivered and planned reform.
The Alliance now brings together 46 civic and business organisations from across Ireland, representing over 55,000 members, 700,000 employees, 599,000 volunteers and 374,000 students in highlighting the negative impact of persistently high premiums and calling for real reforms that will quickly reduce liability and motor insurance premiums to affordable levels and keep them that way.
ENDS
For further information of clarification, contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
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PRESS RELEASE
09/12/2021
Alliance calls out Government on duty of care reform
Fears we “have regressed to a box-ticking exercise”
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has called on Government to deliver on its promise to rebalance the duty of care in light of an alarming loss of momentum on the issue in recent months.
The Cabinet Committee Sub-Group on Insurance Reform published its most recent Implementation Report in July 2021. In it, they reported that “The Department of Justice is working on a General Scheme to give effect to the proposals (on duty of care) and expects to bring these to Government in September 2021 for approval.” However, this General Scheme has not as yet been published and no revised timeline for its publication has been given.
Tracy Sheridan, owner of Kidspace play centres in Rathfarnham and Rathcoole and director of the Alliance said “The duty of care applicable to every premises and event in the country has been a weight around the neck of voluntary and community groups, charities, sports and cultural organisations and businesses for far too long. Too often, organisations are found liable for accidents they had no hand, act or part in, because the courts and insurers impose an absolute duty of care on them, ignoring the role played by the injured party themselves. The concept of personal responsibility has been significantly diminished by the Courts in recent years. The duty of care must be rebalanced in a way that is fair, reasonable, practical, and proportionate and in the public interest.”
Eoin McCambridge, Managing Director of McCambridge’s of Galway and director of the Alliance said “The Government acknowledged the seriousness of the insurance crisis in establishing the Cabinet Sub Group for Insurance Reform in September 2020, chaired by the Tanaiste and including many of the key Ministers and Ministers of State involved in this issue. After some initial progress on issues such as the Judicial Guidelines, the Sub Group appears to have regressed to a box-ticking exercise, claiming recently that “34 actions out of 66 have been completed” when what is needed is an intense focus on key reforms such as the duty of care. If we continue to lose momentum on this issue, I am afraid the war against unsustainable insurance costs will be lost.”
Peter Boland, director of the Alliance said “We call on Minister McEntee to fast-track the delayed General Scheme on rebalancing the duty of care as a matter of urgency. Policyholders cannot wait any longer for meaningful reform of this key issue.”
ENDS
For further information of clarification, contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
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PRESS RELEASE
16/11/2021
Central Bank motor insurance analysis shows business as usual for lawyers, insurers and brokers during pandemic
Alliance calls on Government to accelerate reforms in face of crisis
- Claims cost per policy down 29% over last 12 years but premiums up 26%
- Insurers gave Covid-related rebates of just 3% as the economy and society shut down in 2020
- Insurers setting 86% of motor claims directly in value terms – only 10% settled by PIAB, 4% by Court
- Time to reform PIAB and ‘crazy’ personal injury litigation
- Brokers’ commissions high and rising
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has called on Government to accelerate the reform of PIAB, rebalance the duty of care and encourage competition in the insurance market in the light of startling new data from the Central Bank’s third National Claims Information Database on Private Motor Insurance.
Peter Boland, director of the Alliance said “This report illustrates just how much money is being made by underwriters, brokers and lawyers at the expense of Irish charities, community & voluntary groups, sport and cultural organisations and SMEs struggling to make ends meet.
“While this report repeats some of the analysis of the previous two reports, it is far more comprehensive, covering as it does the period from 2009 to 2020. This gives us deeper insights and some startling data to explain the crisis policyholders find themselves in.
“Brand new analysis in this report shows that the average cost of personal injury claims rose 73% between 2009 and 2020 and this must be addressed through the new Judicial Guidelines. But the reality is that due to a sharp fall in the number of all motor insurance claims in the same period (-59%) , overall claims costs per policy dropped dramatically (-29%). And yet amazingly, the average earned premium increased by 26% in the same period.
“More recently, the collapse in economic and social activity in 2020 was met with a derisory average rebate of 3% with many insurers giving no rebate at all.”
“It is clear that the incumbent insurers have responded to developments in recent years in ways that suit themselves, not their customers.”
From a reform perspective, insurers are settling 86% of motor claims (in value terms) directly. In value terms, only 10% of motor claims are now settled by PIAB, only 4% by the Courts. So the importance of insurers holding firm on the private settlements they make under the new Judicial Guidelines cannot be overstated. Otherwise the entire reform of personal injury guidelines will be fatally undermined before any such claims get to Court.”
Eoin McCambridge, Managing Director of McCambridge’s of Galway and director of the Alliance said “We have been well aware for some time now that for the 94% of claimants who claim for more minor injuries it is quicker and cheaper to settle via PIAB while achieving the same level of compensation. And yet the vast majority of these claims are going on to lengthy litigation. The only beneficiaries of this crazy process are lawyers. Society cannot afford to continue paying their legal bills and PIAB must be dramatically reformed in order to allow it to process far more cases.”
Peter Boland said “Equally, the aggregated data from previous NCID reports suggested that broker commissions had climbed dramatically in recent years, but what the more granulated data in this report makes clear is that broker commissions have been high all along, averaging 15% of premiums over the period of the analysis and climbing to 17% last year”.
Tracy Sheridan, owner of Kidspace play centres in Rathfarnham and Rathcoole and director of the Alliance said “Given the money being made, it is clear that the insurance crisis will not be solved by vested interests. Government must move aggressively to resolve it, rebalancing the duty of care and bringing much greater underwriting capacity into the market to ensure that insurance costs are reduced to affordable levels and kept that way, because we cannot recover from Covid-19 as an economy or a society unless insurance is sorted.”
ENDS
NOTES:
Need references for any of the data cited or got any other queries? Please contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
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PRESS RELEASE
19/10/2021
New survey shows insurance premiums continue to spiral even as costs plummet
Alliance calls on Government to increase competition and accelerate reforms in face of crisis
- Average recent insurance renewal up 15%
- Some sectors being hit very hard, despite recent reforms
- Urgent need for more competition, faster reform
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has today published the results of an ongoing survey that shows that insurance premiums continue to rise despite trends in claims costs and recent reforms.
The Alliance has been running the survey since the implementation of new Judicial Guidelines for personal injury awards on 24th April 2021. Since then, 0ver 450 businesses and voluntary and community groups have responded1 and they tell us that:
- Their premiums have increased by 15% on average on renewal
- Homecare businesses are being hit by average increases on renewal of +122%
- Nursing homes are seeing average increases on renewal of +35%
- Hospitality premiums are up another 9% despite a significant drop in the level of activity in the sector
- In a follow-on survey, member organisation The Wheel found that 45% of respondent charities, voluntary and community organisations have seen increases of over 10% in their liability insurance
- Respondents reported an average reduction in private motor insurance renewals of -10%, consistent with CSO data for the same period
Eoin McCambridge, Managing Director of McCambridge’s of Galway and director of the Alliance said “The total number of liability-related personal injury claims has reduced by 47% over the 11 years between 2009 and 20192 and a further 16% last year3. PIAB has just announced4 a 40% reduction in average personal injury awards. The Perjury Act has been commenced. The Garda Insurance Fraud Coordination Office has been opened. Economic and social activity has been slashed for the last 19 months. And to further reduce future risk, insurers are excluding Covid-19 from many policies on renewal. The risk associated with each and every insurance premium has plummeted in the last year and a half.”
Tracy Sheridan, owner of Kidspace play centres and director of the Alliance said, “Everything is being done to facilitate affordable insurance. And yet we still see premiums increasing. Before the pandemic, premiums were already unsustainably high for so many sectors of Irish society. Now, if the economy and society as a whole are going to recover from the pandemic, premiums must come down significantly for SMEs, voluntary and community groups, sports and cultural organisations and charities as a matter of urgency.”
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said, “It is clear that the incumbent insurers cannot be relied upon to pass on savings. Government must act now to improve competition by getting additional underwriters into the market as a matter of extreme urgency. They must ensure that insurers hold firm on the new Judicial Guidelines rather than settling at higher rates to clear claims. And they must rebalance the duty of care in a way that is fair, reasonable, practical, proportionate and in the public interest; reform PIAB in a meaningful way; and get a publicly-owned fraud database established. Ultimately, they must ensure that all the savings being made are passed on to consumers so that Ireland gets affordable insurance right now and in the long term.”
NOTES:
1 Total respondents to date are 380 to the Alliance survey and 74 to The Wheel survey. Consisting mainly of SMEs, voluntary and community groups, sports and cultural organisations and charities.
2 NCID Employers’ Liability, Public Liability and Commercial Property Insurance Report 1, Table 9, Page 28
3 Personal Injuries Claims numbers down sharply
For further information contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
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PRESS RELEASE
15/10/2021
ALLIANCE WELCOMES PIAB DATA SHOWING SHARP FALL IN AWARDS
ASKS “WHY AREN’T INSURANCE PREMIUMS FALLING”?
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed the report from PIAB which shows personal injuries award values have fallen sharply following implementation of new Judicial Council Guidelines.
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “We welcome this report and the trend in general damages awards reflected in it. But that trend and the effort that went into generating it will be of no value unless they lead to substantial reductions in insurance premiums. While we are seeing some downward movement in motor insurance premiums, the experience of SMEs, voluntary & community groups, sports and cultural organisations and charities is that renewals are actually increasing right now. Why aren’t they falling?
“The insurance industry cannot have its cake and eat it. They identified the cost of claims as the key driver of insurance costs and this has been addressed by Government and the Judiciary. So the risk associated with every policy has reduced significantly and this must be reflected in premiums. If the savings in PIAB settlements do not go into reductions in unaffordable premiums, they go directly into insurers’ profits.”
The Alliance has also called for full transparency from the insurance industry. Mr Boland said “PIAB and the Courts account for a small proportion of settlements and it is vital that insurers, who finalise the vast majority of them, provide data this year to confirm whether or not they are holding firm on the new judicial guidelines.”
Finally, Eoin McCambridge, Managing Director of McCambridge’s of Galway and Director of the Alliance said “The data in this report makes it clear that most personal injury claims have no business in the High Court. The judiciary and insurers must call time on the tactic of pursuing small claims in the High Court in order to extort a higher settlement and bigger legal fees from defendants who live in fear of the cost of a protracted High Court case taken by an impecunious plaintiff, with no chance of recovering costs if they win. This tactic is particularly reprehensible at a time when the High Court is under considerable pressure to process its case load.”
ENDS
For further information contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PRESS RELEASE
30/08/2021
Alliance welcomes establishment of Garda insurance fraud office
Calls on insurers to step up anti-fraud capacity
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has warmly welcomed the establishment of an Insurance Fraud Coordination Office (IFCO) under the control of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) to help combat fraudulent and exaggerated insurance claims.
Eoin McCambridge, Managing Director of McCambridge’s of Galway and director of the Alliance said “The Alliance has been campaigning for the establishment of a Garda insurance fraud unit from Day One and we warmly welcome today’s news. It marks a major step in the battle against insurance fraud, formalising as it does a structured and streamlined approach by the Gardaí. It will act as a significant deterrent to anyone considering making a fictitious or exaggerated claim.”
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “The establishment of IFCO is the first step in the eradication of the scourge of insurance fraud. There are two more significant steps required to make sure this initiative works.
“Firstly, insurers must take fraud seriously, by stepping up their anti-fraud capacity through ‘The recruitment of suitably trained personnel and the development of various technological means of combating fraud’ as recommended by the Personal Injuries Commission chaired by Justice Nicholas Kearns. The days of settling fraudulent claims as an expedient and then passing the cost of this approach on to society must end.
“Secondly, we call on the Garda Commissioner to urgently establish Divisional structures to counter fraud. This initiative was announced by An Garda Síochána in 2019 but nothing has happened on it since.”
ENDS
For more, contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
_________________________________________________________________________________
PRESS RELEASE
14/07/2021
Central Bank analysis shows society being held to ransom by lawyers and insurers
Alliance calls on Government to accelerate reforms in face of crisis fuelled by greed
- Lawyers gouge clients as litigated claims for minor injuries cost up to 25 times more in legal fees, takes 2.7 years longer to settle and yield less for claimants than PIAB awards
- Lawyers making an average of €22,792 in fees on employer liability claims for minor injuries
- Insurers losses due to poor investment performance, increased broker commissions, increased reinsurance costs and increased reserves – not claims costs
- Claims costs have been dropping since 2015, at record low in 2019
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has reacted with anger to new data that shines a light on what is going on in the liability insurance market in Ireland, as the first National Claims Information Database (NCID) liability insurance report is published by the Central Bank.
Peter Boland, director of the Alliance said “This report lays bare the scale of the greed that has driven the current insurance crisis, enriching underwriters, brokers and lawyers at the expense of Irish charities, community & voluntary groups, sport and cultural organisations and SMEs struggling to make ends meet.
“The sheer scale of the fees being made by lawyers is reflected in these figures, as it was in the NCID’s motor insurance reports. But what is extraordinary here is that lawyers’ pursuit of fees is actually costing their clients when minor injury public liability (PL) or employer liability (EL) claims are taken to litigation. Claims for minor injuries cost up to 25 times more in legal fees than settlements via PIAB, take 2.7 years longer to settle and yield less for the claimant than PIAB awards.
“For example, on public liability claims for minor injuries (<€150,000) between 2015 and 2019, the average PIAB assessment was €26,760. Whereas an average minor injury award via litigation was €25,088, 6% less. On employer’s liability claims, lawyers creamed off average fees of €22,792 in fees, 25 times more than the legal fees via the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, where a higher average award for the plaintiff cost only €902 to deliver. It is clear that personal injury litigation is the mother lode of many Irish solicitors’ income, at the expense of plaintiffs, policyholders and society.
“Meanwhile insurers have been insisting for years now that claims drive insurance costs but what is clear from the 11 years of data produced in this report is that it has been costs within the control of insurers that have driven their losses. Dramatically reduced investment income, increased commission levels paid to brokers and big increases in reinsurance costs and reserves for future settlements have driven recent losses. Meanwhile insurers’ loss ratio (ultimate claims costs to earned premiums) has dropped dramatically since 2015, the year liability premiums started to rocket. The loss ratio was at a record low of 56% in 2019.
“Eoin McCambridge, Managing Director of McCambridge’s of Galway and director of the Alliance said “The crisis policyholders have been going through is fuelled by greed. This report clearly illustrates the extent to which Irish society is being held to ransom by lawyers and insurers. Government must now accelerate their reform programme, moving swiftly to get more competition into the Irish insurance market as the incumbents are not serving Ireland well. Equally, the cost of litigation must be addressed. As a matter of extreme urgency, the promised reform of PIAB must now be fast-tracked. But the scale and impact of legal fees can no longer be swept under the carpet. Government must act quickly and decisively to cap legal fees in the Circuit and High Courts. And finally, the duty of care must be rebalanced so that it ceases to impose an unbearable burden on policyholders.“
Tracy Sheridan, owner of Kidspace play centres in Rathfarnham and Rathcoole and director of the Alliance said “It is difficult to overstate the importance of this data for Irish charities, voluntary & community groups, sports & cultural organisations and SMEs which have long suffered from unsustainably high insurance costs. This is particularly true of the sectors worst-affected by insurance hikes, which have been identified in the report. It is now up to Government to ensure that insurance costs are reduced to affordable levels and kept that way, because we cannot recover from Covid-19 as an economy or a society unless insurance is sorted.”
ENDS
_________________________________
PRESS RELEASE
24/06/2021
Alliance urges Government “don’t leave anyone behind” in insurance reform plans
Whole sectors of society struggling to get insurance cover
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has urged the Government to avoid leaving any sector behind as insurance reforms are implemented.
At a meeting this afternoon with Sean Fleming, the Minister of State at the Department of Finance with responsibility for Insurance, the Alliance presented the experience of 21 sectors* that are struggling to get insurance cover or are increasingly vulnerable due to a lack of competition among insurers in their sector.
Peter Boland, director of the Alliance said “We warmly welcome the implementation of the new judicial guidelines on personal injury awards which came into effect in April; and we expect this and other measures in the pipeline to apply significant downward pressure on premiums. But all that reform is of no value if you cannot get cover or there is only one underwriter prepared to offer cover. We have identified 35 sectors1 in this predicament.
Teresa Heeney, Chief Executive Officer of Early Childhood Ireland, who attended the meeting said “ We believe that the Insurance Competition Office established by Minister of State Fleming can play a pivotal role in encouraging underwriters not currently offering cover in Ireland to do so, given the dramatic changes in the market that are taking place. We have proposed to the Minister that the Office:
- Research and develop the market data requirements of potential incoming underwriters
- Address urgent supply issues in areas such as childcare and child-oriented enterprises, hospitality and tourism, leisure and the creative and sports sectors; and the resultant risks associated with having just one underwriter covering strategically important sectors
Lucy Medlycott, Director of ISACS, the Irish Street Artists, Circus and Spectacular Network, who also attended the meeting said “ We also asked the Minister and his team to instruct the Insurance Competition Office to develop an understanding of the detailed market segmentation being used by underwriters to analyse opportunities; and formulate responses as necessary. For example, the entire Irish creative sector would probably make for a viable market for an underwriter. But if that sector is further broken down, then sub-sectors such as community circuses or street artists will probably never present a viable commercial opportunity and their demise would be Ireland’s loss.”
Peter Boland, concluded “The number of sectors represented at this meeting gives an indication of the scale and urgency of the supply issue. The market, if left to its own devices, will respond to ongoing insurance reforms like an oil tanker, not a speedboat. So Government must intervene on behalf of the sectors represented here today as well as others that we have identified. The actions identified by us have been backed up by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission market study of last December and must be implemented with real urgency. ”
ENDS
NOTES:
*In attendance at the meeting were:
- Bernadette Burke, Chief Executive, Childminding Ireland
- William Martin, Vice-Chair, Coach Tourism and Transport Council
- Teresa Heeney, CEO, Early Childhood Ireland
- Mary O’Connor, CEO, Federation of Irish Sport
- Justin Green, Historic Houses of Ireland
- Jamie Farrelly, Policy and Communications Officer, Home and Community Care Ireland
- Ruth Andrews, CEO, Incoming Tour Operators Association Ireland
- Brendan Kenny, CEO, Ireland’s Association for Adventure Tourism
- Con Quill, CEO, Irish Caravan and Camping Council
- Michael Magner, Chair, Insurance Committee, Irish Hotels Federation
- Cyril McGuinness, Irish Road Haulage Association
- Lucy Medlycott, Director, Irish Street Arts, Circus and Spectacle Network
- Don Bird, Irish Showmens Guild
- Pat Dawson, CEO, Irish Travel Agents Association
- Tadhg Daly, CEO Nursing Homes Ireland
- Tommy Gill, CEO, Play Activity & Leisure Ireland
- Adrian Cummins, CEO, Restaurants Association of Ireland
- Tara Buckley, Director General, RGDATA
- Brian Staunton, NGB Support Unit Manager, Sport Ireland
- Padraig Cribben, Chief Executive, Vintners Federation of Ireland
- Mel Campbell, Play Services Ireland
1Sectors, sub-sectors and groups of individuals that are struggling to get cover at all right now or are reduced to one underwriter who is effectively in a monopolist’s situation (even if this in inadvertently, because other underwriters have pulled out of the market) include:
- Adventure centres that deal with children
- Artists, arts workers and arts organisations
- Bike hire shops on greenways and elsewhere
- Bouncy castle operators
- Caravan & Camping Parks
- Car rental
- Childcare providers
- Childminders
- Children’s’ play centres
- Children’s playgrounds (non-local authority)
- Circuses (both community and commercial)
- Climbing walls
- Coasteering
- Drivers of older cars
- Equestrian sports
- Festivals and events
- High ropes (adventure centres)
- Home care providers
- Ice skating
- Incoming tour operators
- Independent marts
- Karting tracks
- Late night venues
- Minority sports
- Mountain biking
- Nursing homes
- Outdoor adventure centres
- Private scheduled buses
- Street artists
- Taxis
- Trampoline centres
- Travel agents
- Tyre depots
- Vehicle recovery operations
- Young drivers
The Alliance for Insurance Reform brings together 41 civic and business organisations from across Ireland, representing over 55,000 members, 700,000 employees, 614,000 volunteers and 374,000 students in highlighting the negative impact of persistently high premiums and calling for real reforms that will quickly reduce liability and motor insurance premiums to affordable levels and keep them that way.
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PRESS RELEASE
26/04/2021
Alliance welcomes D-Day for insurance premiums
Says insurers must deliver significant reductions immediately
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed the implementation of the new judicial guidelines on personal injury payments.
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance, said “Today, Monday 26th April, is D-Day – the first working day following the implementation of these new guidelines. From today, we expect the price of motor and liability insurance policy renewals to drop significantly. The new guidelines, signed off by the Judicial Council in March, do not deliver the 80% reduction in minor injury damages that is necessary to bring us close to comparable jurisdictions. But at an estimated 50% reduction, it is nonetheless significant.
“Insurance premiums are based on future risk and every accident that happens from today and the majority of claims already in the pipeline will be subject to the new guidelines, so the risk associated with every new motor and liability policy in Ireland will drop significantly and that must be reflected in the price of those policies.”
Eoin McCambridge, Managing Director of McCambridge’s of Galway and director of the Alliance said “Insurers have consistently argued that the cost of claims drives the cost of insurance. This has been backed up by analysis the Alliance carried out with the Central Bank which shows that 42% of every single motor insurance policy is currently swallowed up by compensation payments*.
“From today, future payments will drop by an estimated 50% and there will be follow-on reductions in legal costs, broker commissions, Motor Insurer’s Bureau costs and reinsurance costs. So insurers must deliver significant reductions immediately to reflect this new reality.”
Tracy Sheridan, owner of Kidspace play centres in Rathfarnham and Rathcoole and director of the Alliance said “It is difficult to overstate the importance of today for Irish motorists, charities, voluntary & community groups, sports & cultural organisations and SMEs which have long suffered from unsustainably high insurance costs. It is now up to insurers to deliver on their commitments and for Government to ensure they do so. Government must then follow through with reform of the duty of care and of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board so that insurance costs can be reduced to affordable levels and kept that way.”
ENDS
NOTES:
Department of Justice announcement of implementation here:
*”42% of every single motor insurance policy is currently swallowed up by compensation payments” – see pie chart in bottom left hand corner of our Infographic here:
https://insurancereform.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/air-infographic-no2-final.pdf
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PRESS RELEASE
09/03/2021
Alliance welcome acceleration in implementation of new personal injury guidelines
Calls on insurers to pass on reductions immediately and in full
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed confirmation from Government that the new Judicial Personal Injuries Guidelines will take effect in April.
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance, said “We welcome the sense of urgency in the Cabinet’s approval today of plans by the Minister of Justice to implement the new guidelines. Now it is time for insurers to outline very clearly how they intend to reduce premiums to reflect these developments.”
Tracy Sheridan, owner of Kidspace play centres in Rathfarnham and Rathcoole and director of the Alliance said “Insurers have repeatedly and consistently maintained to the Cost of Insurance Working Group, the Personal Injuries Commission, the Oireachtas Finance Committee and elsewhere that the cost of claims drives premium costs. This analysis has been verified by the Central Bank’s National Claims Information Database Private Motor Insurance Reports. The changes implemented by the Judicial Council and accelerated today by Government mean that the risk associated with every policy will reduce sharply from next month. This must be immediately reflected in renewals for motor and liability insurance cover.”
Eoin McCambridge, Managing Director of McCambridge’s of Galway and Director of the Alliance said “Government must act robustly if necessary to ensure that the gains from the Judicial Guidelines and today’s Cabinet decision are passed on immediately and in full by insurers. Any delays or half-hearted measures will undermine the credibility of the reform process. Furthermore, if insurers do not deliver on the reasonable expectations of policyholders, Government must legislate to monitor and hold them to account in the way that the UK authorities recently have with insurers there, following reforms.”
In conclusion Peter Boland said “It must be remembered that getting insurance costs down means cutting the general damages paid out for minor, fully recovered injuries to reflect international norms. We have written to An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, in his role as Chair of the Cabinet Committee Sub-Group on Insurance Reform, asking Government to take control of the process and cap general damages such that damages for minor injuries are reduced by an average of 80% compared to the previous Book of Quantum guidelines. Equally, the committed–to reform of PIAB and the rebalancing of the duty of care must now be accelerated. But in the meantime, insurers must act in good faith on the progress already made.”
ENDS
NOTES:
“Insurers repeatedly maintained to the Cost of Insurance Working Group, the Personal Injuries Commission, the Oireachtas Finance Committee and elsewhere that the cost of claims drives premium costs.
The insurance industry and other stakeholders have consistently pointed to increased claims inflation and claims frequency in recent years as the primary reason for the rise in cost of insurance. P42, Cost of Insurance Working Group REPORT ON THE COST OF MOTOR INSURANCE
Insurance Ireland representatives on the PIC have repeatedly stated that, as award levels and associated costs account for the bulk of the cost of insurance, if claims costs come down and are maintained at a consistent and predictable level then premiums will also reduce accordingly. P4, Second and Final Report of the Personal Injuries Commission, July 2018
“This analysis has been verified by the Central Bank’s National Claims Information Database Private Motor Insurance Reports”
See Alliance for Insurance Reform Fact Sheet No. 2 “Who Gets What?” graphic.
“If insurers do not deliver on the reasonable expectations of policyholders, Government must legislate to monitor and hold them to account in the way that the UK authorities recently have.”
“Therefore, at Report stage in the House of Lords, the government committed to bring forward an amendment in the Commons to provide an effective means of reporting on the public commitment made by the insurance sector. The aim of this amendment is to enable insurers to demonstrate that savings have been passed on to consumers and thereby hold insurers to account, in a way that is appropriate given the commercial sensitivities associated with this type of information. In developing this approach, the intent has been to balance the need to:
- Hold insurers to account in a way that is sufficiently rigorous; and
- Avoid intervening in an already competitive market or placing disproportionate burdens or insurers or regulators.”
Treasury Policy Note – expected Regulations to require insurers to provide information relating to the impacts of the Civil Liability Bill
“Damages for minor injuries account for the vast majority of compensation payouts”: See PIAB – Insights into the Personal Injury Environment, November 2019
Overall, the Alliance expects general damages for minor, fully recovered soft tissue injuries to be recalibrated in the manner reflected in the ISME Fair Book of Quantum which corresponds with our own independent academic advice.
_____________________________
PRESS RELEASE
06/03/2021
Alliance reacts with dismay to judicial guidelines
Calls on Government to intervene immediately and do the right thing
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has reacted with dismay to the new Personal Injuries Guidelines published today by the Judicial Council and has called on the Government to immediately intervene to do the right thing for hard-pressed motorists, charities, voluntary and community groups, sports and cultural organisations and SMEs severely affected by insurance costs, by dramatically reducing the proposed damages for minor injuries.
The new judicial guidelines are set to replace the current Book of Quantum guidelines on the amounts awarded for personal injuries.
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance, said “Getting insurance costs down means cutting the general damages paid out for minor, fully recovered injuries to reflect international norms and norms already established by the Court of Appeal. It would have taken reductions of 80% to the damages handed out for such injuries in order to do so. In advance of the adoption of these guidelines, we called on the judiciary to have regard to the common good in their deliberations but they have ignored this plea and we are dismayed at what they are now proposing.”
Examples of minor injuries that remain way too high following the Judicial Council review include:
- Minor thumb injury (no sprain, no breakage). Was €21,200 reduced to €12,000 (-43%) . Currently €4,582 in England & Wales
- Minor, substantially recovered. Was €15,700. Now €6,000 (-62%). Currently €4,192 in England & Wales (will drop to €1,492 in May). Up to €1,125 in Germany. Unlikely to receive compensation in Sweden.
- Minor, full recovery expected. Was €19,400. Now €12,000 (-38%). Currently €7,605 in England & Wales (will drop to €4,763 in May).
- Moderate. Was €30,200. Now €23,000 (-24%). Currently €13,225 in England & Wales
- Minor, full recovery expected. Was €18,400. Now €12,000 (-35%). Currently €7,605 in England & Wales
- Minor. Was €23,100. Now €12,000 (-48%). Currently €7,413 in England & Wales
“We have now written to An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, in his role as Chair of the Cabinet Committee Sub-Group on Insurance Reform, asking Government to intervene immediately, take control of the situation and cap general damages such that damages for minor injuries are reduced by an average of 80% compared to the previous Book of Quantum guidelines. The Law Reform Commission has made it clear that such an action would be entirely constitutional subject to certain safeguards and it is up to the Government to do the right thing now for the sake of the common good.
“In the meantime, any changes implemented as a result of today’s announcement should be immediately passed on in reductions by insurers to their policyholders.“
Eoin McCambridge, managing director of McCambridge’s of Galway and director of the Alliance said “The single biggest element of the cost of insurance, as determined by the Cost of Insurance Working Group, the Personal Injuries Commission and the Central Bank’s National Claims Information Database, is compensation; and general damages for minor injuries account for the vast majority of compensation payouts. What we award for minor, fully recovered injuries in Ireland is 4.4 times higher than in England & Wales and further multiples higher than other European jurisdictions. An 80% reduction on minor injuries would only bring us down to where England and Wales currently are and would still be nowhere near the equivalent damages in other European countries – and England and Wales are further slashing their damages for minor whiplash injuries this May.
“We are not talking about damages for serious injuries here. Where a person is seriously injured due the negligence of someone else, they must be properly compensated and that is what insurance is there for. What we are talking about are the bumps, bruises and mild, fully recovered whiplash injuries where treatment ends when the legal action is finished. We reward these injuries at a level unprecedented in Europe and these are the awards that are damaging Irish society.”
Tracy Sheridan, owner of Kidspace play centres in Rathfarnham and Rathcoole and director of the Alliance said “Insurance costs remain an existential issue for Irish SMEs, charities, sports and cultural organisations, voluntary and community groups. Government must move immediately on this because the Irish economy is not going to recover from Covid-19 through SMEs, or Irish society through the voluntary & community sector, unless insurance is sorted.”
ENDS
NOTES:
“The single biggest element of the cost of insurance…is compensation”: See Alliance for Insurance Reform Fact Sheet No. 2 “Who Gets What?” graphic.
“Damages for minor injuries account for the vast majority of compensation payouts”: See PIAB – Insights into the Personal Injury Environment, November 2019
“And England and Wales are further slashing their damages for minor whiplash injuries this May.” https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=462cc73f-7e17-4547-a22a-0b4c0327c24f
“What we are talking about are the bumps, bruises and mild, fully recovered whiplash injuries where treatment ends when the legal action is finished.”: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/most-whiplash-patients-end-treatment-when-legal-action-finished-1.4041918
Overall, the Alliance expects general damages for minor, fully recovered soft tissue injuries to be recalibrated in the manner reflected in the ISME Fair Book of Quantum which corresponds with our own independent academic advice.
______
PRESS RELEASE
23/02/2021
The National Campaign for the Arts joins the Alliance
Says insurance situation has become unworkable
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed its latest and 41st member organisation, The National Campaign for the Arts.
The National Campaign for the Arts is a volunteer-led, grassroots movement that makes the case for the arts in Ireland, an artistic and cultural community comprised of over 55,000 people. They work to ensure that the arts are on local and national government agendas and are recognised as a vital part of contemporary Irish life.
Angela Dorgan, Chair of the Nation Campaign for the Arts Steering Committee said “Inadequate, inaccessible and unsustainably expensive insurance-product is a significant issue for artists, arts workers and arts organisations. In recent years, the situation has become unworkable with many organisations unable to purchase suitable insurance to cover the full scope of their activities at an affordable price, or at all. NCFA is proud to become a member of the Alliance for Insurance Reform and looks forward to working with them to deliver meaningful insurance reform in Ireland.”
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “With so many challenges being posed by the current pandemic, insurance should not be on the agenda for our artists, art workers or arts organisations. We call on the Government to urgently accelerate the pace of insurance reform so that our creative and cultural sectors can focus on recovering from the impact of Covid-19 and delivering an artistic response that will significantly contribute to the recovery of Irish society as a whole.”
”In particular, we ask that they prioritise the following real reforms:
- Reduce unfair general damages to reflect international norms and the principles already established by the higher courts – including that ‘minor injuries attract modest damages’
- Review and re-balance the “common duty of care” to require occupiers to take a duty of care that is reasonable, practical and proportionate
- Support a fully-resourced Garda Insurance Fraud Unit
- Reform and strengthen PIAB
- Insist on insurers committing to a schedule of forecast reductions for planned reforms”
The Alliance now brings together 41 civic and business organisations from across Ireland, representing over 55,000 members, 700,000 employees, 599,000 volunteers and 374,000 students in highlighting the negative impact of persistently high premiums and calling for real reforms that will quickly reduce liability and motor insurance premiums to affordable levels and keep them that way.
ENDS
CONTACT:
Aileen Galvin, National Campaign for the Arts, info@ncfa.ie
Peter Boland, Alliance for Insurance Reform. contact@insurancereform.ie
____
PRESS RELEASE
05/02/2021
Alliance expresses serious concerns regarding Judicial Council guidelines
Calls on Judiciary to reduce damages for minor injuries by 80%
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has expressed serious concerns at reports that the Judicial Council is tending towards the adoption of guidelines that would reflect those in the Green Book, Northern Ireland’s personal injuries guidelines.
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance, which represents charities, voluntary and community groups, sports and cultural organisations and SMEs severely affected by insurance costs said “Such a development would be unlikely to lead to meaningful reductions in the cost of personal injury claims and hence insurance, unless it came hand-in-hand with wholesale reform of the Irish legal system. Otherwise, using the Green Book as a reference point would be the status quo masquerading as reform.
“We understand that the adoption and publication of new Judicial Personal Injury Guidelines have been postponed until the 20th February and we welcome any opportunity for serious reflection on the guidelines but we call on the Judicial Council, in their deliberations, to have regard to the common good in reducing general damages for fully recovered minor injuries by at least 80% to reflect international norms and norms already established by the Court of Appeal.”
Eoin McCambridge, Managing Director of McCambridge’s of Galway and director of the Alliance said “The single biggest element of the cost of insurance, as determined by the Cost of Insurance Working Group, the Personal Injuries Commission and the Central Bank’s National Claims Information Database, is compensation; and general damages for minor injuries account for the vast majority of compensation payouts. What we award for minor, fully recovered injuries in Ireland is 4.4 times higher than in England & Wales and further multiples higher than other European jurisdictions. An 80% reduction on minor injuries would only bring us down to where England and Wales currently are and would still be nowhere near the equivalent damages in other European countries – and England and Wales are further slashing their damages for minor whiplash injuries later this year.”
Tracy Sheridan, owner of Kidspace play centres in Rathfarnham and Rathcoole and director of the Alliance said “Insurance costs remain an existential issue for Irish SMEs, charities, sports and cultural organisations, voluntary and community groups. The Irish economy is not going to recover from Covid-19 through SMEs, or Irish society through the voluntary & community sector, unless insurance is sorted.”
ENDS
NOTES:
“Reports that the Judicial Council is tending towards the adoption of guidelines that would reflect those in the Green Book”:
“The single biggest element of the cost of insurance…is compensation”: See Alliance for Insurance Reform Fact Sheet No. 2 “Who Gets What?” graphic.
“Damages for minor injuries account for the vast majority of compensation payouts”: See PIAB – Insights into the Personal Injury Environment, November 2019
“What we are talking about are the bumps, bruises and mild, fully recovered whiplash injuries where treatment ends when the legal action is finished.”: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/most-whiplash-patients-end-treatment-when-legal-action-finished-1.4041918
Overall, the Alliance expects general damages for minor, fully recovered soft tissue injuries to be recalibrated in the manner reflected in the ISME Fair Book of Quantum which corresponds with our own independent academic advice.
____________
PRESS RELEASE
05/02/2021
Alliance welcomes Commercial Court business interruption decision
Calls on all insurers to quickly settle valid claims and Central Bank to publish update
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed the decision of the Commercial Court in four test cases brought by pub owners over insurer FBD’s refusal to pay out on business disruption over the Covid-19 pandemic.
Padraig Cribben, Director of the Alliance and Chief Executive of the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland said “We welcome this outcome and call on all insurers underwriting in Ireland to move urgently now to settle all valid business interruption claims arising from Covid-19, to review all claims already declined and to inform all policyholders who have a valid claim that this is the case. To string any further clearly valid claims out by dragging cases into litigation or to the ombudsman would be unconscionable at this stage and must be subject to aggravated damages when resolved.”
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “Equally we call on the Central Bank to demonstrate that safeguarding consumers is a priority by publishing an update on the work they have carried out under their COVID-19 and Business Interruption Insurance Supervisory Framework. Keeping that work under wraps merely facilitates insurers determined to minimise their exposure to valid Covid19-related business interruption claims.”
ENDS
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PRESS RELEASE
21/01/2021
Alliance calls on Judiciary to reduce damages for minor injuries by 80%
As the Judicial Council prepares Personal Injuries Guidelines to replace the Book of Quantum, the Alliance for Insurance Reform has called on the judiciary to have regard to the common good in their deliberations and reduce awards for minor personal injuries by 80%.
The Judicial Council is scheduled to adopt and publish new judicial guidelines on damages for personal injuries by 31st July at the latest. These new guidelines will replace the current Book of Quantum guidelines as to the amounts that may be awarded in personal injury claims. It is understood that draft guidelines are to be considered at a meeting of the full Judicial Council on the 5th February.
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance, which represents charities, voluntary and community groups, sports and cultural organisations and SMEs severely affected by insurance costs said “The single biggest element of the cost of insurance, as determined by the Cost of Insurance Working Group, the Personal Injuries Commission and the Central Bank’s National Claims Information Database, is compensation; and general damages for minor injuries account for the vast majority of compensation payouts. What we award for minor, fully recovered injuries in Ireland is 4.4 times higher than in England & Wales and further multiples higher than other European jurisdictions. An 80% reduction on minor injuries would only bring us down to where England and Wales currently are and would still be nowhere near the equivalent damages in other European countries – and England and Wales are further slashing their damages for minor whiplash injuries later this year.
“We call on the Judicial Council to have regard to the common good in reducing general damages for fully recovered minor injuries by at least 80% to reflect international norms and norms already established by the Court of Appeal.
“We are not talking about damages for serious injuries here. Where a person is seriously injured due the negligence of someone else, they must be properly compensated and that is what insurance is there for. What we are talking about are the bumps, bruises and mild, fully recovered whiplash injuries where treatment ends when the legal action is finished. We reward these injuries at a level unprecedented in Europe and these are the awards that are damaging Irish society.”
Tracy Sheridan, owner of Kidspace play centres in Rathfarnham and Rathcoole and director of the Alliance said “Insurance costs remain an existential issue for Irish SMEs, charities, sports and cultural organisations, voluntary and community groups. The Irish economy is not going to recover from Covid-19 through SMEs, or Irish society through the voluntary & community sector, unless insurance is sorted.”
Ivan Cooper, Director of Public Policy at the Wheel (Ireland’s national association of community and voluntary organisations, charities and social enterprises) and director of the Alliance said “This is a singular opportunity for the judiciary to have a profoundly positive impact on Irish community and voluntary groups and small businesses.“
ENDS
NOTES:
“The single biggest element of the cost of insurance…is compensation”: See Alliance for Insurance Reform Fact Sheet No. 2 “Who Gets What?” graphic.
“Damages for minor injuries account for the vast majority of compensation payouts”: See PIAB – Insights into the Personal Injury Environment, November 2019
“What we are talking about are the bumps, bruises and mild, fully recovered whiplash injuries where treatment ends when the legal action is finished.”: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/most-whiplash-patients-end-treatment-when-legal-action-finished-1.4041918
Overall, the Alliance expects general damages for minor, fully recovered soft tissue injuries to be recalibrated in the manner reflected in the ISME Fair Book of Quantum which corresponds with our own independent academic advice.
The Alliance for Insurance Reform brings together 39 civic and business organisations from across Ireland, representing over 55,000 members, 690,000 employees, 599,000 volunteers and 374,000 students in highlighting the negative impact of persistently high premiums and calling for real reforms that will quickly reduce liability and motor insurance premiums to affordable levels and keep them that way. Our members include:
- AOIFE Ireland (Association of Irish Festival Events)
- Car Rental Council of Ireland
- Childminding Ireland
- Coach Tourism & Transport Council of Ireland
- Community Reuse Network Ireland
- Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association
- Cork Business Association
- Early Childhood Ireland
- Family Business Network Ireland
- Federation of Irish Sport
- Galway Chamber
- Galway City Business Association
- Galway County Public Participation Network (PPN)
- Ireland Active
- Ireland’s Association for Adventure Tourism
- Irish Caravan and Camping Council
- Irish Concrete Federation
- Irish Hotels Federation
- Irish Road Haulage Association
- Irish Showman’s Guild
- Irish Street Arts, Circus and Spectacle Network
- Irish Travel Agents Association
- ISME
- Licensed Vintners Association
- Motorsport Ireland
- Nursing Homes Ireland
- Play Activity and Leisure Ireland
- Quick Service Food Alliance
- Restaurants Association of Ireland
- Retail Excellence
- RGDATA
- Sligo PPN
- Society of the Irish Motor Industry
- South Dublin County PPN
- Sport Ireland
- Union of Students in Ireland
- Vintners Federation of Ireland
- Volunteer Ireland
- The Wheel (Ireland’s national association for community, voluntary and charitable organisations)
For further details contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
______________________________________________
PRESS RELEASE
08/01/2021
Struck out case shows State not serious about insurance fraud
Alliance calls on immediate establishment of Garda insurance fraud unit
Following reports that “A court has struck out the case against a father-of-two who was accused of fraud over a €60,000 road accident injury claim”, “after Dublin District Court heard a book of evidence was not ready” the Alliance for Insurance Reform has accused the State of not taking insurance fraud seriously .
Eoin McCambridge, managing director of McCambridge’s of Galway and director of the Alliance said “Our members regularly encounter insurance fraud. Fraudulent and exaggerated insurance claims have a profound impact on the businesses and services targeted and yet there are virtually no prosecutions for this crime, with fraudsters regularly having their unsustainable claims dismissed but walking away scot-free to claim another day. Yesterday we saw a rare prosecution collapse because the book of evidence was not ready. It is clear that the State is not taking this crime seriously.”
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “Four years after the Cost of Insurance Working Group first addressed this issue and despite a clear commitment from An Garda Síochána in 2019 to a division-led approach, we are no closer today to having a formal Garda response to insurance fraud. As a matter of urgency, Government must ensure the immediate establishment a Garda insurance fraud unit to show some level of commitment to resolving this problem. Further reports and studies are no longer acceptable in addressing this issue.”
ENDS
For further details contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
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PRESS RELEASE
04/01/2021
Will 2021 be the year insurance gets sorted?
Alliance says that depends on just 5 outcomes
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has claimed that the insurance crisis can be sorted in 2021 but only if 5 key actions are fully completed.
Eoin McCambridge, managing director of McCambridge’s of Galway and director of the Alliance said “Nothing the Government has done so far has applied any downward pressure on insurance premiums and for charities, community and voluntary groups, sports and cultural organisations and SMEs, insurance has been unsustainably expensive now for over 5 years. If Government expects Ireland to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic through SMEs, or for Irish society as a whole to recover through voluntary and community groups, then insurance must and can be sorted in 2021.”
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “ In the last 4 years we have had the Oireachtas Finance Committee Report on Insurance Costs, two Cost of Insurance Working Group (CIWG) reports and 11 CIWG Updates; the reports of the Personal Injuries Commission, two National Claims Information Database reports from the Central Bank, the CCPC Market Study on Liability Insurance and the Government’s Action Plan on Insurance Reform. What is abundantly clear from these is that if insurance costs are to be brought under control, there are 5 key issues that must be actioned this year:
- General damages for minor injuries must be dramatically reduced to reflect international norms and norms already established by the Court of Appeal: we await the new personal injuries guidelines to be adopted and published by the Judicial Council, due by 31st July of this year at the latest. But we have no idea what the new guidelines will look like or when we will get to see them, if at all, before they are adopted by the Courts.
- Redefine and re-balance the “common duty of care” to require occupiers to take a duty of care that is reasonable, practical and proportionate: we await action from the Minister for Justice that will address the situation where many policyholders find themselves 100% liable for accidents regardless of the circumstances.
- Establish a formal Garda response to insurance fraud: 4 years after the Cost of Insurance Working Group first addressed this issue and despite commitments from An Garda Síochána in 2019 to a division-led approach, we are no closer to having a formal Garda response to insurance fraud.
- Reform of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board: If PIAB is not radically reformed, it will be irrelevant within a decade and the compensation of people injured due to the negligence of others will be a process managed and controlled by the legal profession, for the benefit of the legal profession, with dire consequences for the cost and availability of insurance cover in Ireland. We await urgent proposals for reform and enhancement of PIAB from Minister of State Robert Troy.
- Produce a schedule of forecast reductions for reforms: we need commitments from the insurance industry that all the reforms being worked on will actually lead to substantial reductions in insurance costs. We await an assessment of the expected impact on premium levels of the reforms being introduced, from Minister of State Sean Fleming.
“There are 66 actions in the Government’s Action Plan on Insurance Reform, but unless these 5 issues are addressed this year, then 2021 will go down as the year insurance could have been sorted, but wasn’t.”
ENDS
For further details contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
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PRESS RELEASE
23/12/2020
Alliance calls on the European Commission to expand the scope of its insurance investigation to include liability insurance
Expresses concerns that CCPC market study will become ‘just another report’
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has called on the European Commission to expand the scope of its current insurance investigation to include liability insurance and expressed concerns that the market study on the public liability insurance market published by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission overnight will become ‘just another report’.
Peter Boland, director of the Alliance said “The CCPC report raises the issue of access to the InsuranceLink claims database, currently controlled by established insurers. Access to the motor insurance element of this database is currently being investigated by the European Commission. We call on the Commission to now expand the scope of its investigation to include liability insurance. Additionally, as recommended by the CCPC, that database must be transferred to independent control and made available to any insurer wishing to offer cover in the Irish market. This issue was flagged in the very first Cost of Insurance Working Group report in January 2017 but has been bogged down ever since.”
“We welcome the CCPC’s recommendation that the role of PIAB be enhanced and expanded ‘to provide for it to become the main personal injury settlement channel in the State’ and in particular its suggestion that ‘this could be done by allocating a range of additional functions such as mediation and/or quasi-judicial powers to PIAB.’”
“Furthermore we urge the Central Bank to publish its National Claims Information Database information at insurer level in the first liability Insurance NCID Report due in the first half of 2021, as recommended by the CCPC.
“Finally, the Alliance notes that the massive level of insurance cost increases experienced in many Irish commercial, voluntary & community sectors over the last 5 years is hidden in this report by the broad aggregated structure of the research carried out on behalf of the CCPC and the lack of any independent data noted by the Commission.”
Commenting on the publication of the report, Eoin McCambridge, managing director of McCambridge’s of Galway and director of the Alliance said “The time for additional reports is long gone. Policyholders have been closing down due to unsustainable insurance costs and this report will not in itself strike fear into the hearts of anyone making money on the back of policyholders struggling to pay their premiums. In the last 4 years we have had the Oireachtas Finance Committee Report on Insurance Costs, two Cost of Insurance Working Group (CIWG) reports and 11 CIWG Updates; the reports of the Personal Injuries Commission and most recently the Action Plan from the Cabinet Sub-Group on Insurance Reform. Now we need action to make sure the CCPC market study does not become just another report.“
ENDS
For further details contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
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PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
08/12/2020
Alliance welcomes declaration of intent on insurance reform
Calls on Government to speed up the process
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed the Government’s ‘Action Plan for Insurance Reform’ (published today by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Recovery and Investment’s Sub-Group on Insurance Reform), while expressing concern at the timelines involved.
Commenting on the release of the plan, Eoin McCambridge, managing director of McCambridge’s of Galway and director of the Alliance said “As a declaration of intent, this plan ticks all the boxes. But progress on real insurance reform has happened at a snail’s pace and the majority of the proposals in the Action Plan have been doing the rounds since the start of 2017. That is 4 years of unsustainably high insurance premiums closing down businesses and stopping voluntary groups from doing what they volunteered to do. We call on the Government to not treat the timelines in this plan as targets to be aimed for. Rather we urge them to speed up the pace of reforms to beat these timelines and allow businesses and society in general to reopen after Covid19 without insurance costs hanging over their heads.”
Actions and timelines committed to in the Plan include:
- Report on the implementation and early impact of the new personal injury guidelines to be adopted in July 2021 by the Judicial Council– December 2021
- Ensuring that fraudulent claims are forwarded to the DPP – December 2021
- Implementation of recommendations regarding the publishing of insurance fraud data – December 2021
- Central Bank supervision of the insurance industry’s response to business interruption claims by SMEs – ‘Ongoing’ – no deadline
- Proposals to Government on implementation of ‘any changes deemed necessary’ to Occupiers Liability Act with regard to the duty of care – June 2021
- Legislative proposals on reform of the role of PIAB – June 2021
- Publication of Central Bank data on liability insurance – June 2021
Peter Boland, director of the Alliance said “In the last 4 years we have had the Oireachtas Finance Committee Report on Insurance Costs, two Cost of Insurance Working Group (CIWG) reports and 11 CIWG Updates; and the reports of the Personal Injuries Commission. Many of the meaningful actions in these reports experienced slippage or did not happen at all and the reality is that no reform that has happened so far has applied downward pressure on insurance costs. The actions in this report must not be allowed to be dragged out in the same way.”
ENDS
FOR FURTHER DETAILS CONTACT: contact@insurancereform.ie
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PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
01/12/2020
Alliance meets Minister responsible for PIAB
Calls for urgent and radical reform to strengthen the Board’s role
The Alliance for Insurance Reform today met Minister of State Robert Troy, the Minister whose delegated responsibilities include the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB); and expressed its alarm at the publication of data by the Central Bank which shows the percentage of motor insurance personal injury claims settled by PIAB has fallen to only 14%.
Commenting prior to the meeting, Eoin McCambridge, managing director of McCambridge’s of Galway and director of the Alliance said “When PIAB was launched in 2004, it had a profound and immediate impact on insurance costs as was intended. But it has been undermined since then to the extent that far more cases now go to litigation, with no benefit for plaintiffs but enormous fees for solicitors and barristers.”
Peter Boland, director of the Alliance said “If urgent and radical reform of PIAB is not carried out, it will be irrelevant within a decade and we will be back to a situation where the compensation of people injured due to the negligence of others will be a process managed and controlled by the legal profession, for the benefit of the legal profession, with dire consequences for the cost and availability of insurance cover in Ireland. It is up to the Minister to address this issue now and we call on him to publish detailed reform proposals and most importantly, to follow through on those proposals, as a matter of extreme urgency.”
ENDS
NOTE: The 14% figure quoted in this release comes from Figure 13, on page 28 of the Private Motor Insurance Report 2 National Claims Information Database published on Tuesday 3rd November.
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PRESS RELEASE
06/11/2020
Alliance expresses concern for future of the PIAB
Calls for urgent and radical reform to strengthen its role
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has reacted with alarm to the publication of data by the Central Bank which shows the percentage of motor insurance personal injury claims settled by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board has fallen to only 14%.
Commenting on the news, Eoin McCambridge, managing director of McCambridge’s of Galway and director of the Alliance said “When the PIAB was launched in 2004, it had a profound and immediate impact on motor insurance costs as was intended. But it has been undermined since then to the extent that far more cases now go to litigation, with no benefit for plaintiffs but enormous fees for solicitors and barristers.”
Peter Boland, director of the Alliance said “It is up to the newly-formed Government Cabinet Sub-Group on insurance reform to address this issue urgently and radically, before the PIAB becomes irrelevant through no fault of its own. We have contacted the Minister of State with responsibility for the PIAB, deputy Robert Troy, to seek an urgent meeting in this regard.
ENDS
NOTE: The 14% figure quoted in this release comes from Figure 13, on page 28 of the Private Motor Insurance Report 2 National Claims Information Database published on Tuesday of this week.
FOR FURTHER DETAILS CONTACT: contact@insurancereform.ie
31st October 2020
Urgent action on real reforms will be the measure of Sub-Group’s success
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed the establishment of a Cabinet Committee Sub-Group on insurance reform, to replace the Cost of Insurance Working Group.
Commenting on the Government’s announcement of the plan, Peter Boland, director of the Alliance said that “The Sub-Group on insurance reform is to be welcomed. Its predecessor, the Cost of Insurance Working Group, had become a box-ticking exercise and unfortunately for policyholders, none of the boxes that were ticked applied downward pressure on insurance costs. The success of this Sub-Group will be measured by the speed with which it moves to get real reforms in place.
“We note that on the launch of the plan, Deputy Sean Fleming, Minister of State at the Department of Finance with responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance, identified a substantial reduction in the level of damages for personal injuries paid out in Ireland as being key to meaningful reform. Additionally, we would see the rebalancing of the duty of care applied to policyholders in Ireland as an essential part of the reform agenda.
“We look forward to seeing the detailed plans and timelines of the Sub-Committee and trust that it will move swiftly to implement them as it is clear that the Irish economy will not recover from the pandemic through SMEs, nor will Irish society recover through charity, voluntary and community groups, unless insurance is sorted.”
ENDS
For further information, contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
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PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 06/10/2020
Alliance welcomes its latest member
Volunteer Ireland says insurance creating huge barrier to volunteering in Ireland
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed its latest member, Volunteer Ireland.
Volunteer Ireland is the national volunteer development organisation and a support body for all local Volunteer Centres and Volunteering Information Services in Ireland.
Nina Arwitz, CEO of Volunteer Ireland said “Insurance is creating a huge barrier to volunteering in Ireland. Many organisations that involve volunteers are struggling to secure insurance for their volunteer programmes or face prohibitive insurance costs. Over 1 million people in Ireland volunteer each year, and it’s no exaggeration to say that Ireland relies on volunteers to deliver vital services in areas such as homelessness, youth work, animal welfare, environmental protection, social equality, care for elderly and health. The challenges around insurance present a real threat that many organisations working in these areas will not be able to survive, which would have huge negative consequences for our society.”
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “While we warmly welcome Volunteer Ireland to our Alliance, it is frustrating that an organisation so important for the fabric of our society feels obliged to join us. Insurance should not be on their agenda, particularly at the moment. We call on the Government to urgently accelerate the pace of insurance reform so that Volunteer Ireland can focus on driving the recovery of Ireland’s volunteering infrastructure from COVID19.
”In particular, we ask that they prioritise the following real reforms:
- Reduce unfair general damages to reflect international norms and the principles already established by the higher courts – including that ‘minor injuries attract modest damages’
- Review and re-balance the “common duty of care” to require occupiers to take a duty of care that is reasonable, practical and proportionate
- Support a fully-resourced Garda Insurance Fraud Unit
- Insist on insurers committing to a schedule of forecast reductions for planned reforms
The Alliance now brings together 39 civic and business organisations from across Ireland, representing over 55,000 members, 670,000 employees, 599,000 volunteers and 374,000 students in highlighting the negative impact of persistently high premiums and calling for real reforms that will quickly reduce liability and motor insurance premiums to affordable levels and keep them that way.
ENDS
Contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
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PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 30th September 2020
Alliance welcomes Law Reform Commission personal injury report
Urges judiciary to reflect the common good in reducing damages
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed the publication of the Law Reform Commission’s Report on Capping Damages in Personal Injuries Actions.
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “We welcome the timely publication of this important Report. Right now the Report changes nothing in that new draft guidelines on general damages are due to be submitted to the Board of the Judicial Council by the 28th October. But on the other hand it clearly endorses a ‘Plan B’ – the capping of damages by the Oireachtas – if the Judicial Council does not fully reflect the common good in urgently delivering the dramatic reductions in damages for minor injuries necessary if we are to address our current insurance crisis in any meaningful way”.
Eoin McCambridge, Director of the Alliance and Managing Director of McCambridge’s of Galway said “Small businesses, voluntary groups, charities, sports clubs and cultural organisations, the heart of the Irish economy and Irish society, are being seriously damaged by the cost of insurance or in numerous cases now unable to obtain insurance at all. As the Personal Injuries Commission clearly identified, sky-high general damages are at the heart of this issue and must be cut to reflect international norms to ensure that legitimate minor injuries attract modest damages. Policyholders cannot wait any longer for dramatic, meaningful reductions in awards for minor injuries. The Alliance expects general damages for minor injuries to be reduced along the lines of the Fair Book of Quantum published by ISME.”
ENDS
NOTE: Responsibility for reviewing guidelines for general damages to replace the Book of Quantum is currently with the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee of the Judicial Council and the Committee is due to present draft guidelines to the Board of the Judicial Council by the 28th October. We have installed a countdown clock on our website counting down to that date.
CONTACT: contact@insurancereform.ie
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PRESS RELEASE
18th August 2020
Alliance welcomes insights in Court of Appeal judgement
Launches countdown clock to deadline for new judicial guidelines on damages
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed observations on the calculation of Irish personal injury awards provided in a judgement by the Court of Appeal on a High Court personal injury case.
Linda Murray, Director of the Alliance and owner of Huckleberry’s Den play centre in Navan said “We welcome the timely and practical insights of the Court of Appeal in this judgement on issues such as the level of personal injury awards, the current lack of consistency in such awards and the impact on society of those awards. SMEs, voluntary groups, charities and sports and cultural organisations, the core of the Irish economy and Irish society, are being seriously damaged by the cost of insurance or in numerous cases now unable to obtain insurance. As the Personal Injuries Commission clearly identified, sky-high general damages are at the heart of this issue and must be cut to reflect international norms to ensure that legitimate minor injuries attract modest damages.”
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “General damages for minor fully-recovered injuries must be comprehensively reduced. Responsibility for this task is currently with the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee of the Judicial Council and the Committee is due to present draft guidelines to the Board of the Judicial Council by the 28th October. These guidelines are intended to replace the current Book of Quantum. We have installed a countdown clock on our website counting down to that date and we very much look forward to seeing the judiciary reflect the common good in their deliberations. Policyholders cannot wait any longer for dramatic, meaningful reductions in awards for minor injuries. The Alliance expects general damages for minor injuries to be dramatically reduced along the lines of the Fair Book of Quantum published by ISME.”
ENDS
NOTES:
As part of a comprehensive judgement detailing how damages for personal injury cases should be assessed, Justice Seamus Noonan observed that “The cost of (motor, public or employer’s liability) insurance is for most ordinary people and businesses, a significant outgoing. The extent to which awards by courts influence that cost is in recent times, a matter of widespread public discourse, debate and dispute. Whatever the reality may be, it is clear that awards made by the courts have an impact on society as a whole and the courts are mindful of that fact. Ultimately each member of society must bear the cost of a compensation system whether through the payment of insurance premia in the case of private defendants or taxes in the case of public defendants. Society thus has a direct interest in the level of awards”.
Justice Noonan also commented that “Frequently, the identity of the trial judge would not be known until moments before the case actually commenced, resulting in varying outcomes depending on the ‘draw’. It is clear that this has the potential for injustice. It cannot be fair to either plaintiff or defendant that the value of their case depends on the identity of the trial judge. Personal injury litigation should not be a lottery and plaintiffs and defendants alike are entitled to reasonable consistency and predictability. This is particularly important in the context of injuries which fall at the lower end of the spectrum as these constitute the vast bulk of cases, most commonly involving soft tissue, or ‘whiplash’ injuries.”
The Court of Appeal awarded total general damages of €35,000 plus agreed special damages of €6,000, making in total €41,000. This is a dramatic reduction of the High Court award of €70,000 for general damages together with agreed special damages in the amount of €6,000 making a total award of €76,000. Justice Noonan commented that “Taking into account all the relevant factors to which I have referred in the context of the proportionality of the award in this case, I am satisfied that by any reasonable measure it cannot be viewed as proportionate. It is not proportionate when viewed against the measure of the maximum for the most serious injuries. Neither is it proportionate in relation to other comparable awards and in that respect, the most directly comparable award is that in Payne v Nugent. Finally, it bears no relation to the range identified in the Book of Quantum which I consider appropriate in this case.”
A decision on costs is pending, subject to a submission from the defendants and a response from the plaintiff.
As the judgement was delivered electronically, both Whelan J. and Power J. indicated their agreement with it.
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PRESS RELEASE
16th July 2020
Alliance echoes call of lone horseman for ‘complete reform of insurance’
State action on Covid19-related business interruption claims ‘invisible’
As horseman Sean Kilkenny continues his insurance protest trek from County Clare to Leinster House with his coach and horses, the Alliance for Insurance Reform has expressed intense frustration at ongoing delays in action on insurance.
Linda Murray, Director of the Alliance and owner of Huckleberry’s Den play centre in Navan said “We completely sympathise with Sean on the loss of his livelihood and echo his call for ‘complete reform of insurance in Ireland’.
“SMEs, community and voluntary groups are dealing with the results of that lack of reform every day, through unsustainable insurance costs and fear for the future of their organisation as the insurance crisis hampers their recovery from the pandemic.”
Michael Magner, Chair of the Alliance’s Covid19 Working Group and owner of Cork’s Vienna Woods Hotel said “The Covid19 pandemic has thrown up multiple issues with regard to insurance and the State response on business interruption (BI) claims in particular has been invisible. The Alliance wrote to the Governor of the Central Bank on the 23rd March urging him to take action that would “quickly turn a blanket ban (by insurers on covering any Covid19-related BI claims) into a sensible resolution of the problem.” To date, all we have seen from the Central Bank is a number of public pronouncements, but no solid action.
“Equally, our June 8th request to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman that he “put in place an emergency fast track process leading to a legally binding decision for the business interruption related complaints your office has already received, in order to provide some guidance to the many businesses faced with BI refusals” has gone unanswered.
“Small businesses and community enterprises waiting for clarification on their business interruption claims cannot wait for months or even years for a clear decision. Following standard operating procedures is not enough in this crisis. We urge the Central Bank Governor and the Ombudsman to move swiftly to get clarity on who is covered by BI insurance and to what extent.”
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said ” If the Government is expecting the economy to recover through SMEs and for society to recover through community and voluntary groups, insurance reform needs to be resolved this year. While the pandemic has made matters even worse for policyholders, the fundamentals that must be addressed have not changed.
“Unfair general damages must be cut to reflect international norms and ensure that legitimate minor injuries attract modest damages. The Alliance expects general damages for minor injuries to be dramatically reduced along the lines of the Fair Book of Quantum published by ISME.
“The ‘common duty of care’ must be urgently reviewed and re-balanced so that occupiers are required to take a duty of care that is reasonable, practical and proportionate but not absolute, ignoring personal responsibility.
“A fully resourced, dedicated Garda Insurance Fraud Unit must be established.
“And Government must insist on insurers committing to a schedule of reductions on delivery of the key reforms being progressed.
“Finally, we call again on Government to reinstate the Cabinet subcommittee on insurance reform dropped at the last minute from the final Programme for Government document. With all relevant Ministers and civil servants to be actively involved, this committee is essential to coordinate action and ensure the necessary reforms are put in place urgently.”
ENDS
For further information contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
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PRESS RELEASE
16th June 2020
Cabinet subcommittee on insurance reform dropped at last minute
Alliance asks parties to reconsider decision
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has reacted with disappointment and frustration to the dropping of the proposed cabinet subcommittee on insurance reform featured in the draft programme for government circulated this morning. In the final Programme for Government document, “Our Shared Future”, responsibility for insurance reform has been subsumed under a Cabinet Committee on Economic Recovery and Investment which according to the final document will “prioritise the issue of insurance reform”.
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “We are deeply disappointed and frustrated with this last-minute decision. While we welcome the priority afforded to insurance reform by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Recovery and Investment, without the focus of a dedicated subcommittee the rest of the insurance reforms in the PFG document are in danger of becoming a series of vague commitments and considerations.
“We would ask the parties to reconsider this decision given the centrality of the issue to our economic recovery and the need for focused urgent action if we are to stop insurance getting in the way of our national recovery from Covid19 and halting the damage to Irish charities, community groups, sports organisations, our arts and culture and SMEs caused by unsustainable insurance costs. Further delays to reform are just not an option any more”.
ENDS
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PRESS RELEASE
15/06/2020
Alliance welcomes focus on insurance reform in programme for government document
Calls on incoming government, judiciary and Garda Commissioner to move swiftly
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed the clear focus on insurance reform in the Programme for Government document now in circulation, but has urged a real sense of urgency from everyone now charged with getting reforms over the line.
Proposed reforms listed in the document include:
- Establish a cabinet subcommittee on insurance reform
- Recognise the work of the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee of the Judicial Council to provide guidance on personal injury claims
- Enhance and reform the PIAB
- Regulate claims harvesters
- Consider changes to the Occupiers Liability Act and The Civil Liability Act to strengthen waivers and notices to increase protections for consumers, businesses, sporting clubs and community groups
- Consider a constitutional amendment to enable the Oireachtas to set general damages
- Address insurance fraud by seeking to expand the National Economic Crime Bureau
- Ensure fraudulent claims are forwarded to the DPP
- Establish a fraud database
- Give additional powers to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC)
- Oblige insurers to quantify impact of key reforms
- Work to remove dual pricing on insurance
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “While we welcome the focus on insurance reform in the programme for government document, we have been here before with the hope offered by the Cost of Insurance Working Group Report in 2017 and the Personal Injuries Commissions Reports in 2018. If Irish SMEs and voluntary groups are going to recover from the Covid19 crisis, we need urgent real reform on foot of the programme for government.
“We will need the full engagement of the next Government and particularly the new cabinet sub-committee if we are to make meaningful progress. But we will also need the Judicial Council to move swiftly to dramatically reduce general damages for minor injuries; and the Garda Commissioner to establish a full network of divisional fraud units with dedicated fraud investigators and a specialised support unit at the NECB. On the reforms that are proposed, we cannot afford any further delays as most of them have already been round the houses before.
“We will be seeking clarification from the political parties on the commitment to reform the Occupiers Liability Act and The Civil Liability Act with regard to duty of care. If their approach is merely to strengthen waivers and notices, this will not be sufficient to address an issue that has become all the more important in the light of the current pandemic. We must rebalance the duty of care so that occupiers are required to take a duty of care that is reasonable, practical and proportionate but not absolute, ignoring personal responsibility.
”We also note with concern that there is no mention of commencing the Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019, an important piece of consumer protection legislation that was signed into law by the President in December 2019, but has still not been commenced by the Minister at the request of the insurance industry. This legislation cannot be allowed to be sidelined on behalf of a narrow-interest lobby group.”
ENDS
For further information contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
PRESS RELEASE 14/03/2019
FRUSTRATION AS KEY INSURANCE REFORMS FURTHER DELAYED
Two years of planning but no Garda Unit yet
Hard-pressed insurance policyholders have reacted with intense frustration to the confirmation during yesterday’s 2-hour long debate on insurance in the Dáil, that plans to establish a long-proposed Garda Insurance Fraud Unit have made no progress. Additionally, the Minster with responsibility for insurance, Michael D’Arcy, announced that a previous plan to rapidly address the disproportionate scale of damages for minor, fully recovered personal injuries by way of an ad hoc judicial committee has been abandoned in favour of legislation establishing a full Judicial Council; legislation that is before the Seanad but has made no progress whatsoever since November 2017.
Alliance director and play centre owner Linda Murray commented “This Garda Unit has been Government policy, through the Cost of Insurance Working Group, for over two years now. It has been planned in meticulous detail by An Garda Siochana but has already been delayed by a year-long cost-benefit analysis and a pointless debate over how it should be funded. Meanwhile play and activity centres all over Ireland deal with exaggerated and misleading claims with no help from the State and are closing down at a rate of one a week as their insurance premiums rocket.”
Eoin McCambridge, Alliance director and MD of McCambridges shop and restaurant in Galway said “The scale of general damages for very minor, fully recovered soft tissue injuries is promoting a claims culture in Ireland. The Departments of Justice and Finance and the Judiciary have wasted six months since the publication of the Personal Injuries Commission final report working out a framework to review and reform the Book of Quantum that sets those damages. In the meantime, thousands of additional personal injury claims have been lodged, many of them encouraged by the enormous sums of money to be made out of so-called ‘paracetamol injuries'”.
Peter Boland, director of the Alliance said “We now wonder whether the Government is serious about insurance reform at all. Over 30 members of the Alliance, all policyholders facing enormous premium increases for their businesses and voluntary groups, spent yesterday afternoon in Dáil Éireann listening to a debate between the Minister responsible for insurance, Michael D’Arcy and the opposition, on a motion tabled by Michael McGrath of Fianna Fáil.
“We heard no news of real progress from the Minister. Increasingly, there is evidence to suggest that insurance reform is not a priority for the Government despite the damage insurance costs are causing to communities, charities, sporting organisations, arts groups and small businesses all over the country. This is an issue the Alliance and its 36,000 member organisations and their 639,000 employees will be pressing hard in the run-up to local elections in May.”
ENDS
For further details contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
ALLIANCE EXPRESSES FRUSTRATION AT LATEST CIWG UPDATE
Statistics look like moving deck chairs around the Titanic
The Government’s Cost of Insurance Working Group has just released another quarterly update and the Alliance for Insurance Reform has carried out a full analysis of the Working Group’s progress as outlined in that update. Key facts include:
- Of the 100 ‘actions’ listed by the CIWG, 71 are process actions: meetings, reports, liaisons, reviews, consultations, forming committees. While these are necessary, they will not in themselves achieve anything.
- The balance of 29 are real actions that could have a real impact on insurance costs
- However, of the real actions, only 14 have been completed (48%) and many of these have been deemed long-term or ineffectual, including the National Claims Information Database, Insurers Large Increases Protocol and the Returning Emigrants Protocol.
- One of the actions marked as completed is the review of the Book of Quantum. The consultations on this critical action have certainly commenced, but the actual review by the Judiciary has not yet commenced. Marking this as “completed” at this key stage is a shocking abdication of responsibility.
- The key real actions delayed include:
- The long-promised Garda Insurance Fraud Unit, due to be actioned since mid-2017, which is now earmarked for further consideration by the Garda Commissioner.
- The production of a protocol obliging insurers to communicate with their customers on claims made against them, before settlement
- establishment of a National Insurance Industry Fraud Database
- Data on liability insurance from the insurance industry, explaining where recent massive increases have come from
- Additionally, 11 of the actions listed in the original CIWG reports have been marked “CONCLUDED (for CIWG)” which means they have not been fully actioned, but responsibility has been transferred to another Government department. Actions removed from the CIWG list in this way include the Uninsured Drivers database and a protocol obliging insurers to require a valid NCT cert.
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State should use PIAB €17.5m surplus to create an Insurance Reform Fund
No funding impediment to setting up a Garda Insurance Fraud Unit and other reforms
Last night the Dáil passed the Committee Stage of a Bill which will allow the Government to pocket the large surplus generated by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board.
At the end of 2017, this surplus was close to €17.5m. The Alliance for Insurance Reform has called on the Government to use this money to fast track vital reforms which could help cut insurance premiums.
Peter Boland, spokesperson for the Alliance said” this surplus arises from fees paid mainly by insurance companies to the Board over the years – so ultimately it has come from the pockets of policyholders who pay insurance premiums. If the PIAB doesn’t need this money, it should be used for the benefit of insurance policy holders who have been crucified with high premiums for many years.”
The establishment of a Garda Insurance Fraud Unit has been delayed because of squabble over who should pay -the insurance industry (who are prepared to pay) or the tax payer.
“Using this money can end this debate now and allow the Garda Commissioner to push ahead with recruiting the necessary staff.”
The Alliance wants this money transferred into an Insurance Reform Fund so that resources are no obstacle to pressing ahead with reforms like the Garda Fraud Unit or the establishment of the Judicial Council which will have a role in overhauling the award levels to ensure consistency between judges and with international norms. The Fund could also be used to cover the cost of additional legal drafters to speed up many reforms promised by Government but still not progressed.
“Solving the problem of high insurance premiums requires reform across a range of Departments. Given the availability of this Fund, resources cannot be an excuse for delay” concluded Peter Boland.
For more details contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
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Alliance welcomes survey which shows universal support for action against insurance fraudsters
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed a survey of Irish drivers which showed almost universal (95%) support for punitive action being taken against insurance fraudsters.
According to Peter Boland, spokesperson for the Alliance, a number of measures have been put forward to tackle insurance fraud in Ireland but progress has been painfully slow.
“A one section Private Members’ Bill creating an automatic referral to the state authorities when a claim is found to be false or misleading is before the Justice Committee and needs to be enacted as a matter of urgency.”
“Government also needs to fast track the establishment of an Irish Garda Fraud Investigation Bureau along the lines of the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department [IFED] in the UK. The buck passing on this important initiative has to stop, if we are serious about tackling fraud”.
The Alliance also welcomed comments by Ben Fletcher, Director of the IFED about the need for greater access to data, the prevalence of staged accidents and the role played by “professional enablers – solicitors and medics willing to lend their professional expertise to claims that are patently false.”
Peter Boland concluded “we have no shortage of recommendations for action and plenty of experience in the UK to draw from. What is missing is a sense of urgency that will translate these recommendations into action and lower premiums”.
ENDS
For more details contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 29/11/18
Alliance welcomes progress on finally closing CCTV claims loophole.
The Alliance for Insurance Reform today welcome a positive development in insurance reform, the Amendment of Section 8 of the Civil Liability Act 2004. The amendment reduces the period for reporting personal injury accidents to 1 month. This will bring an end to a loophole which has seen many businesses lack vital CCTV evidence for defending claims.
The amendment, part of the Central Bank (National Claims Information Database) Bill 2018, is a step in the right direction for insurance reform.
The Bill will also provide a much-needed claims database but the Alliance is disappointed that control of the database will sit with the Central Bank and not the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB).
The Alliance hopes that other commitments on insurance can be progressed quickly so that we can start seeing real reforms in public liability insurance for Irish businesses and voluntary groups and hence reduced premiums.
Eoin McCambridge Director of the Alliance welcomed the Minister’s action noting that “It is good to finally see some substantive action on insurance reform from the government. But there is a long road ahead if we are to reduce excessive insurance premiums in Ireland.”
Peter Boland of the Alliance added that “this is progress by the government in preventing exaggerated and misleading claims in Ireland, it’s hoped that further progress can be made on delivering our 10 asks for real insurance reform.”
ENDS
For more details contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 25/11/2018
ALLIANCE WELCOMES MORE NEW MEMBERS
EXPRESSES FRUSTRATION AT PACE OF INSURANCE REFORM
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has been joined by two major new member organisations with the arrival of Nursing Homes Ireland (NHI) and the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA).
With the arrival of NHI and the ITAA, the Alliance now numbers 24 civic and business organisations from across Ireland, representing over 36,000 members, 639,000 employees and 43,000 volunteers, highlighting the negative impact of persistently high premiums and calling for real action to tackle the issue.
Pat Dawson, CEO of the ITAA commented “We are delighted to have joined the Alliance and look forward to working with them to campaign for urgent reform on behalf of our members”.
Tadhg Daly, CEO of NHI said “We call upon the Government to act upon the recommendations presented within the Personal Injuries Commission report to tackle high insurance costs.
“Furthermore, the Alliance for Insurance Reform has presented ten feasible, achievable actions to achieve reductions in insurance premiums. Government must, where possible, implement the recommendations with immediacy, in order to address considerable cost burdens for small and medium sized businesses arising from insurance premium costs.”
Eoin McCambridge, Director of the Alliance commented “We warmly welcome Nursing Homes Ireland and the Irish Travel Agents Association to our Alliance. However we are frustrated that they feel obliged to join us. It is notable that there is such a breadth of difference between these two businesses, nursing homes and travel agents, who are both adversely affected by the same problem, rising insurance premiums.
“The slow pace of any real reform to address the insurance crisis is a major issue for their members and countless other businesses and voluntary groups and we still haven’t seen any real changes that will reduce premiums”.
Peter Boland of the Alliance said “There are a raft of initiatives and reforms in the pipeline right now that could make a real difference. However our concern is that we cannot detect a sense of urgency around them. Reforms promised but not yet implemented include:
- The Garda Insurance Fraud Unit
- A change in the law so that personal injury plaintiffs are obliged to notify a potential defendant within 1 month of an incident
- Enactment of the National Claims Information Database Bill
- Enactment of the Judicial Council Bill
“We have made some progress in recent months in terms of drafting legislation, but none of this is worth talking about unless the promised reforms are actioned upon.”
ENDS
For more details contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
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PRESS RELEASE 10/11/2018
ALLIANCE WELCOMES MINISTERS COMMENTS ON INSURANCE
DEMANDS TIME-BOUND COMMITMENTS FROM GOVERNMENT
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed comments attributed to the Minister with responsibility for insurance, Micheal D’Arcy, with regard to the scale of awards for minor injuries in Ireland.
In an interview reported in today’s Irish Independent, Minister of State D’Arcy describes them as the “the most expensive awards in the world” and suggests that if the proposed Judicial Council does not lower awards for minor injuries, the Government will do so, holding a referendum to allow this “if a referendum is required”.
Eoin McCambridge, Director of the Alliance commented “We welcome the statement from the Minister and the clear sense of perspective it suggests with regard to the damage being done by the cost of insurance in this country. However, the Minister must back this attitude up with a clear, time-bound commitment to the establishment of the Judicial Council in order to allow the judiciary an opportunity to address the shocking scale of awards for minor injuries in this country. Earlier this year we received a commitment that the Judicial Council Bill 2017 would be enacted by the end of the year. More recently we are being told that “the intention is to make significant progress towards the enactment of the Bill by the end of this year”. Policy holders paying massive premium hikes cannot afford for this kind of slippage in the enactment of key legislation to delay reform in this sector.”
Peter Boland of the Alliance said “There are a raft of initiatives and reforms in the pipeline right now that could make a real difference. However the concern is that we cannot detect a sense of urgency around them. Reforms promised but not yet implemented include:
- The Garda Insurance Fraud Unit
- A change in the law so that personal injury plaintiffs are obliged to notify a potential defendant within 1 month of an incident
- Enactment of the National Claims Information Database Bill
“We have made some progress in recent months on the whole issue of reform, but none of it is worth talking about unless the promised reforms are actioned upon.”
ENDS
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PRESS RELEASE 03/10/2018
ALLIANCE WELCOMES PROGRESS OF INSURANCE FRAUD BILL
URGES SPEEDY PASSING INTO LAW
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed the passing through Second Stage in the Dáil last night of the Civil Liability and Courts (Amendment) Bill 2018, sponsored by Billy Kelleher TD. The bill was unopposed by the Government and received widespread support from other parties and independents.
The Bill seeks to automatically refer fraudulent and exaggerated personal injury clamisters for potential prosecution, rather than the current situation, where cases may be dismissed but they walk away sanction-free.
Eoin McCambridge, Director of the Alliance commented “We welcome the rapid progress this Bill is making. This amendment is a central measure among our 10 Asks to help reduce insurance costs and there is no reason why this short, practical Bill cannot be enacted quickly. We call on the Government and the Oireachtas Justice Committee to insure this happens”.
ENDS
For further details contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
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PRESS RELEASE 01/10/2018
ALLIANCE WELCOMES STATEMENT FROM CHIEF JUSTICE
WARNS AGAINST EFFORTS TO UNDERMINE PIC REPORT
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed the publication by the Chief Justice of his “Statement on the occasion of the Opening of the New Legal Year”.
Eoin McCambridge, Director of the Alliance commented “We welcome the statement from the Chief Justice and in particular his engagement on the issues of consistency and the proper calibration of the overall level of injury awards. We look forward to seeing urgent progress on these critical issues and all the other recommendations of the Personal Injuries Commission (PIC) Final Report and hope that efforts by some in legal circles to undermine the PIC Report in recent days will not be successful. Too often we get what looks like a positive report that is then undermined by vested interests. The Law Society signed up to the PIC and efforts to backslide must be resisted.
“The Alliance supports the absolute right of those injured due to someone else’s negligence to be compensated. However the untrammelled pursuit of personal injury claims in sometimes dubious circumstances and the unprecedented levels of cash being awarded, are causing severe damage to Irish society and urgent action is needed to address this.”
Peter Boland of the Alliance said “The Alliance has a list of 10 Asks which are feasible, achievable within a limited timeframe and will ultimately be effective in addressing our insurance crisis. These include measures to achieve consistency in the calculation of personal injury awards at realistic and sustainable levels within the jurisdiction and by international norms, such as changing our approach to calculating the Book of Quantum and requiring judges who award damages in excess of the Book of Quantum to set out a detailed reasoning for doing so.”
ENDS
Key statistical findings in the PIC report included:
Irish awards for soft tissue (primarily whiplash) injuries average €19,862
(among claims up to €100,000, general damages only)
Comparable UK average €3,798
So Irish awards are up to 5 time higher than our nearest neighbour.
Comparisons with other jurisdictions for Minor* Soft Tissue (Whiplash) Injury Awards
Canada: capped at €2,315
Germany: up to €1,125
South Australia ‘Unlikely to qualify for compensation’
Sweden: less severe whiplash injuries do not receive compensation
NOTE: *Minor – a full recovery expected
For further details contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
___________________________________________________
PRESS RELEASE 18/09/2018
ALLIANCE WELCOMES PERSONAL INJURIES COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS
DEMANDS URGENT IMPLEMENTATION BY GOVERNMENT
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed the publication today of the final report of the Personal Injuries Commission (PIC) chaired by Justice Nicholas Kearns, but demanded immediate action from Government on the recommendations in the report.
Eoin McCambridge, Director of the Alliance commented “We welcome the publication of the PIC Final Report. The acknowledgement by the Personal Injuries Commission that the level of general damages paid in Ireland is unsustainable and needs to be changed urgently is very welcome. The Commission makes some very practical recommendations that correspond clearly with the Alliance’s 10 Asks. It is now up to Government to implement a specific Action Plan with clear timelines, to which the people responsible are held to account. Kicking the can down the road is no longer an option. We cannot afford to let this happen with this important report published today”.
Key recommendations in the report which back up the Alliance’s 10 Asks include:
- Urgent overhaul of the award levels in the Book of Quantum, to insure consistency between judges and with international norms, taking account of “the jurisprudence of the Court of Appeal, the results of the PIC benchmarking exercise, the WAD scale (Whiplash Associated Disorder scale as established by the Quebec Task Force) and any other factors (considered) relevant”
- “Claimants for their part must give prompt notification of any potential injury claim so that a proper investigation of the accident circumstances may be undertaken by a defendant” so for example, before CCTV evidence is lost after 1 month to comply with data protection legislation.
- “the establishment of an Irish Garda Fraud Investigation Bureau along the lines of the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department [IFED] in the UK without further delay”.
The Commission states that the current crisis “calls for a response that is effective and achievable in the shortest possible time”. Additionally, it notes that “Irish society is presented now with an important opportunity to consider an appropriate rebalancing and recalibration of Irish awards, both in the context of their relative values to each other and comparatively to other jurisdictions”.
Peter Boland of the Alliance commented that “the insurance issue is a crisis right now for Irish charities, voluntary groups, sports organisations, businesses and motorists and only action right now will solve it. Indeed it is the pace of real progress that is key. In particular, the sole response of the CIWG to the unsustainable level of damages in personal injury cases up to now, has been to hand it to the Law Reform Commission for review in a process that will take up to 5 years. Many of the organisations we represent will not be around for the results of that review. So the recommendations of the PIC must be reviewed as a matter of urgency and an urgent solution to this problem implemented.”
ENDS
Key statistical findings in the report include:
- Irish soft tissue injury average €19,862 (among claims up to €100,000, general damages only)
- Comparable UK average €3,798
- So Irish awards 5 time higher
- Comparisons with other jurisdictions for Minor* Soft Tissue (Whiplash) Injury Awards
- Canada: capped at €2,315
- Germany: up to €1,125
- South Australia ‘Unlikely to qualify for compensation’
- Sweden: less severe whiplash injuries do not receive compensation
NOTE: *Minor – a full recovery expected
For further details contact: CONTACT@INSURANCEREFORM.IE
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 14/09/2018
PRIME TIME REVELATIONS ‘THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG’
GOVERNMENT KNOWS WHAT TO DO TO SOLVE PROBLEM
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has reacted strongly to the pattern of fraudulent claims and their consequences revealed in last night’s Prime Time report on RTE television. The programme illustrated examples of:
- falls being staged and injuries being exaggerated
- fraudulent claimants walking away without any sanction or any real possibility of a sanction
- community facilities successfully defending claims but being hammered with legal costs
- insurance companies settling clearly exaggerated claims without telling the policyholder
- insurance companies hiking premiums even where claims were proven to be fraudulent
- community facilities and businesses threatened with closure due to spiralling insurance premiums
Commenting on the programme, Eoin McCambridge, director of the Alliance said “While it is shocking and upsetting to see how community facilities and small businesses are being besieged by fraudulent claims and then penalised even when they win, we at the Alliance are not in the least bit surprised by the content of last night’s report. Indeed the scandalous behaviour on show is just the tip of the iceberg. Our 37,000 member organisations are constantly feeding us back stories of the relentless nature of fraudulent insurance claims in our country. But most of them are afraid to go public for fear of encouraging copycat claims, of data protection issues, of potential reputational damage or indeed of losing the only underwriter available to them.”
Peter Boland of the Alliance said “This crisis has been analysed inside out and everyone is clear at this stage about how to resolve it. We have submitted ’10 Asks’ to the Minister responsible, Minister of State Michael D’Arcy, which we know will help address the issue quickly. In the area of fraudulent claims, we want the following implemented immediately:
- Establish the Garda Insurance Fraud Unit
- Amend Section 8 of the Civil Liability Act 2004 to make it mandatory to report alleged accidents within 1 month of their happening
- Link Sections 26 and 25 of the Civil Liability Act 2004 so that exaggerated and misleading claims are automatically forwarded to the Gardai for investigation and prosecution
- Regulate claims management companies (claims harvesters), which are effectively completely unregulated at present
“The time for action is right now because the insurance crisis is affecting Irish charities, sports clubs, festivals, voluntary groups, playgrounds, local authorities and businesses right now. If the pace of real reform does not pick up this winter, then real damage will be done to the fabric of Irish society.”
ENDS
For further details contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
____________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 05/09/2018
ALLIANCE INSISTS ON REAL ACTION FROM CIWG
45% OF REAL ACTIONS IN WORKING GROUP PLANS NOW DELAYED
The Government’s Cost of Insurance Working Group has just released another quarterly update and the Alliance for Insurance Reform has carried out a full analysis of the Working Group’s progress as outlined in that update. Key facts include:
- Of the 100 ‘actions’ listed by the CIWG, 29 are real actions that could have a real impact on insurance costs
- The balance of 71 are process actions: meetings, reports, liaisons, reviews, consultations, forming committees. While these are necessary, they will not in themselves achieve anything
- However, of the real actions, only 8 have been completed (28%) and many of these have been deemed ineffectual, including the Insurers Large Increases Protocol and the Returning Emigrants Protocol.
- Of the total of 29 real actions, 13 have been delayed (45%)
- The key real actions delayed include:
- Garda Insurance Fraud Unit – the CIWG Update says that “there are a number of serious issues which will require further consideration before any decision whether or not to proceed in this manner is taken“
- the production of a protocol obliging insurers to communicate with their customers on claims made against them, before settlement
- National Claims Information Database
- new rules to oblige insurers to provide addition information on premium breakdowns
- extending the current policy renewal notification period from 15 to 20 working days
- establishment of a National Insurance Industry Fraud Database, delayed due to data protection concerns
- Uninsured Drivers Database for use by An Garda Siochana. Well advanced according to the update, but awaiting ‘go-live’ date.
- Also, while the Personal Injuries Commission 2nd and Final Reports have been submitted to Government (so that is an action completed) they have not as yet been published.
Commenting on the CIWG update and the Alliance analysis of it, Eoin McCambridge, director of the Alliance said “It is clear that the work of the CIWG so far has been skewed towards processes rather than real action. Right now is the time for real action because the insurance crisis is affecting Irish charities, sports clubs, festivals, voluntary groups, playgrounds, local authorities and businesses right now. If the pace of real reform does not pick up this autumn, then real damage will be done to the fabric of Irish society.”
ENDS
For further details contact:
contact@insurancereform.ie
__________________________________________________
PRESS RELEASE 14/08/2018
ALLIANCE WELCOMES PUBLICATION OF PIAB AMENDMENT BILL
RAPID AND DETAILED SCRUTINY OF PROPOSED AMENDMENTS REQUIRED
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed the long-awaited publication of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018.
Alliance director Eoin McCambridge said “The Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) is a key part of the personal injury infrastructure in Ireland that has been continually undermined and sidelined by the legal profession since its establishment. Amendments to the Act which established the Board are clearly needed and in that regard we welcome this Bill.
“However the Amendment Bill will need significant scrutiny before being enacted. In particular, it takes no account of recent decisions by the Court of Appeal or the recommendations of the (as yet unpublished) final report of the Personal Injuries Commission with regard to the Book of Quantum. The amendment as it stands would continue the endless cycle of spiralling personal injury costs through the Book of Quantum, but accelerated by updates every 3 years.
“Additionally, the amendment meant to oblige a plaintiff to undertake a medical examination prior to PIAB issuing an assessment has been neutered. The original proposal from last year was that if a plaintiff refused to submit to a medical examination, then a judge shall take this into account when reaching a decision, if the claim went to court. The revised amendment only asks that a judge may take this refusal into account when determining costs. We know well from past experience that such a watery requirement will seldom if ever be used.
“Finally, we note that Section 13 of the amendment bill allows the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation to raid the cash reserves of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board as the Minister sees fit. This is a worrying development as it potentially removes a degree of independence from the Board and much of the opportunity the Board has to develop its abilities in areas such as fraud detection or database development.”
“With these reservations in mind, we ask the Minister to ensure a swift and practical assessment of the Bill and speedy passage of the final Bill into law to help the fight against spiralling insurance premiums driven in part by personal injury awards and costs”.
ENDS
NOTE: The Personal Injuries Commission was established on the recommendation of the Government’s Cost of Insurance Working Group in February 2017. Chaired by Justice Nicholas Kearns, the PIC was tasked with examining, benchmarking and making recommendations with regard to the reform of the Personal Injury system in Ireland. It has already published its First Report which reviews the personal injury assessment systems in other jurisdictions and makes recommendations based on this review.
The Second and Third (Final) Reports, currently with the Government but unpublished and widely leaked, are expected to make a series of recommendations on alternative personal injury processes, resolution models and compensation models based on international benchmarking.
For further details contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
____________________________________________________
PRESS RELEASE 28/07/2018
ALLIANCE WELCOMES PERSONAL INJURIES COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS
DEMANDS URGENT IMPLEMENTATION BY GOVERNMENT
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed insights into the final report of the Personal Injuries Commission (PIC) published in an article in the Irish Independent this morning.
According to the article, the PIC Final Report acknowledges that:
- personal injury payments in Ireland are among the highest in the world
- there is a lack of consistency in the amounts awarded in court for the same injury
- fraudulent and exaggerated claims “carry a low risk of detection and ‘an even lower risk of prosecution'”
- investigation of such claims is poor
It recommends a broad range of reforms, including:
- That judges should compile new guidelines on appropriate compensation levels in line with lower amounts paid in other countries and taking account of Court of Appeal decisions that have lowered awards made in the Circuit and High Courts
- “No payouts should be made by insurers unless a medical report has been produced”
- “Anyone making a claim must promptly notify the insurer so it can be investigated, before the likes of CCTV evidence is destroyed”
- The establishment of the new Garda Insurance Fraud Unit
- A medical study on the prevention and management of whiplash injuries, most of which are, according to The Irish College of General Practitioners “frankly spurious”
- That insurers should beef up their anti-fraud capacity
Commenting on the article, Peter Boland of the Alliance for Insurance Reform said, “On the basis of this article we welcome the PIC Report which appears to make very practical recommendations that correspond very clearly with the Alliance’s 10 Asks . They are all capable of being put in place quickly and many will have an immediate impact. It is now up to the Government to ensure that the Report’s recommendations are implemented urgently because the insurance issue is a crisis right now for Irish charities, voluntary groups, sports organisations, businesses and motorists and only action right now will solve it. While many of the PIC recommendations are already being considered by government, it is the pace of real progress that is key.
“We note that according to the article, the impact on insurance costs of sky-high legal fees and special damages are not covered in the PIC report but overall, this looks like a practical report that deserves urgent attention.”
Finally, Eoin McCambridge of the Alliance repeated his request that the PIC Final Report be published in full immediately. Said McCambridge, ” While we welcome this insight into the Report, the Alliance repeats its call for the final report of the Personal Injuries Commission to be published immediately in an effort to avoid its full conclusions being misinterpreted; or for partial publication to damage its final recommendations.
“The content of the report will not be changed by reviewing it and even if the Government cannot decide its response for some weeks, the report should be published immediately. Failure to publish just means more delays in a process that has seen too many delays already.”
ENDS
NOTE: The Personal Injuries Commission was established on the recommendation of the Government’s Cost of Insurance Working Group in February 2017. Chaired by Justice Nicholas Kearns, the PIC was tasked with examining, benchmarking and making recommendations with regard to the reform of the Personal Injury system in Ireland. In December 2017 it published its First Report which reviewed the personal injury assessment systems in other jurisdictions and made recommendations based on this review.
The Second and Third (Final) Reports have been completed and are currently with Government waiting to be officially published.
For further details contact: contact@insurancereform.ie
PRESS RELEASE 24/07/2018
ALLIANCE CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION OF FINAL PIC REPORT
VESTED INTERESTS DRIP-LEAKING TO SUIT OWN AGENDAS
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has called for the final report of the Personal Injuries Commission to be published immediately in an effort to avoid it being drip-leaked by vested interests intent on spinning the information contained in it or even damaging its final recommendations.
Alliance director Eoin McCambridge said “We understand from media coverage that the PIC’s final report is completed, but all we have seen so far are snippets leaked by vested interests to promote their position. The insurance elites – the lawyers, medics and insurance companies – have all received copies of the report but as it stands, policyholders will not get to see it until after the government considers it, reportedly ‘in August/September’. However we believe that the government is meeting this week and next week; and so in order to prevent this important initiative being damaged through selective leaking, we ask that the report be released now.
“The content of the report will not be changed by reviewing it and even if the government cannot decide its response for some weeks, the report should be published immediately. Failure to publish just means more delays in a process that has seen too many delays already.”
ENDS
NOTE: The Personal Injuries Commission was established on the recommendation of the Government’s Cost of Insurance Working Group in February 2017. Chaired by Justice Nicholas Kearns, the PIC was tasked with examining, benchmarking and making recommendations with regard to the reform of the Personal Injury system in Ireland. It has already published its First Report which reviews the personal injury assessment systems in other jurisdictions and makes recommendations based on this review.
The Second and Third (Final) Reports are expected to make a series of recommendations on alternative personal injury processes, resolution models and compensation models based on international benchmarking.
For further details contact:
contact@insurancereform.ie
PRESS RELEASE 12/07/2018
ALLIANCE WELCOMES PUBLICATION OF INSURANCE DATA BILL
INSISTS ANALYSIS OF DATA BE TAKEN FROM CENTRAL BANK
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed the publication by the Government of the Central Bank (National Claims Information Database) Bill 2018.
Eoin McCambridge of the Alliance commented “this Bill addresses the critical issue of transparency in the insurance industry. There is no data available on the industry right now so real oversight of this critical sector of the Irish economy is not currently possible.
“While we welcome the Bill, we reject in the strongest possible terms, the proposal that the study and publication of the data be the responsibility of the Central Bank. The Central Bank have a responsibility to ensure the good health of insurance companies and this conflicts directly with their consumer protection responsibilities. So we propose that the study and publication of the data be handed to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board to do so on behalf of consumers.
“This strategy was backed by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Business, Enterprise and Innovation in their Report on the Cost of Doing Business, published yesterday, when they recommended that ‘The Department of Finance and the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation examine the feasibility of the consumer protection function of the insurance market being transferred away from the Central Bank to another body’.
“Additionally, we insist that the data produced include public and employer liability data from Day 1 as this is where the bulk of damaging increases are happening right now.
“And finally, the Central Bank published company-by-company data on the industry up to the end of 2015 in the form of the Blue Book. This was a very useful way for policyholders to monitor what was going on in the industry, but the Central Bank shelved it. While EU data provisions have changed in the meantime, it is well within the Central Bank’s capability to reinstate the Blue Book in a slightly different format; and given that there has not been any data oversight of the industry for 3 years now and that the new National Claims Information Database will not be providing comparable data until 2021, we are facing into 6 years of no monitoring of insurers if nothing is done now.”
ENDS
For further details contact:
contact@insurancereform.ie
11/07/2018
ALLIANCE WELCOMES COMMITTEE REPORT, LOOKS FOR URGENCY
OIREACHTAS BUSINESS COMMITTEE MAKES 7 RECOMMENDATIONS ON INSURANCE
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed the strong cross-party support for insurance reform evident in today’s Report on the Cost of Doing Business from the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Business, Enterprise and Innovation.
Speaking at the launch, Peter Boland of the Alliance commented “It is clear from this report that the Oireachtas recognises the need for reform of the insurance market and we acknowledge the extent to which the Committee took on board the Alliance’s 10 Asks in framing its report.
“Additionally, we welcome the innovative thinking is recommendations like the proposal that ‘The feasibility of the consumer protection function of the insurance market being transferred away from the Central Bank to another body’ be examined.
“What is critical now is that these practical recommendations are followed up on and actioned quickly for the sake of our members who are struggling to pay their insurance premiums or in some cases, to even get quote, right now”.
The seven recommendations from the report specifically relating to insurance are:
- Where an award exceeds the Book of Quantum, that the judge give a written explanation as to why
- The Government examines the feasibility of introducing an updated law in relation to the offence of perjury
- The establishment of a Garda insurance fraud unit
- The Civil Liability & Courts Act 2004 be examined by the Department of Justice and Equality to address fraudulent evidence being presented in Court and no further action being taken for the presentation of such evidence.
- The Department of Finance and The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation examine the feasibility of the consumer protection function of the insurance market being transferred away from the Central Bank to another body.
- ‘An earlier notification time of claims to the defendant because the Committee believes it is vital that early notification is given to allow the full facts of a case to come to light’.
- A new code of conduct be put in place by the insurance industry that would put the policyholder at the centre of the process.
ENDS
For further information contact:
contact@insurancereform.ie
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09/07/2018
ALLIANCE RESPONDS TO OBJECTIONS TO NEW GARDA FRAUD UNIT
GARDA UNIT BEING ESTABLISHED TO PROTECT EMBATTLED POLICY HOLDERS
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has expressed serious concern at two late interventions regarding plans to establish a Garda Insurance Fraud Unit, funding for which was announced last week by Insurance Ireland.
Peter Boland of the Alliance commented “There is widespread political support across the Oireachtas for reform which will lower insurance costs and this initiative was an early recommendation from the Cost of Insurance Working Group. It is embattled policyholders who will benefit from the work of the Unit, as they are the ones paying the insurers, the lawyers and everyone else making money from the current crisis.
“We fully agree, indeed would insist, that the insurance industry should have no operational involvement in this unit as its independence is critical. But funding of Garda activity by private enterprise happens all the time. For example, the promoters of every major festival and sporting event in the country fund Garda supervision of their events. This does not mean that they control the Gardai.
“The pursuit of fraud and in particular insurance fraud, has been down the list of policing priorities for too long and if we are to see any rapid, real improvement in the lot of the small businesses, charities, voluntary groups and sports clubs currently being affected by unsustainable insurance premiums, this unit is one of the initiatives that is critical.
“Proposals for this unit have been in the public domain for 18 months now and we would urge all those with concerns to review the model used by the City of London Police on which these proposals are based and come back with informed and balanced opinion. We are particularly concerned that the rights of embattled policyholders are being shoved to one side in recent interventions”.
On 4th July, the Alliance for Insurance Reform welcomed the long-awaited confirmation from Insurance Ireland that they will fund the establishment of a new Garda Insurance Fraud Unit. The setting up of the unit is something the Alliance has been calling for to help prevent exaggerated and misleading claims being pursued and settled.
ENDS
For further information contact:
contact@insurancereform.ie
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PRESS RELEASE 04/07/2018
Fianna Fáil introduces another key Insurance Reform Bill
Move heaps further pressure on Government
In a move certain to heap additional pressure on the Government regarding insurance reform, Deputy Michael McGrath (FF) has this afternoon introduced the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (Amendment) Bill 2018, a private members bill which provides that where a personal injuries claimant refuses to cooperate with the Personal Injuries Assessment Board by not attending a medical assessment, then if the case subsequently goes to court, the judge shall take this refusal into account and may determine that no costs be awarded in the case.
The Bill also addresses situations where plaintiffs refuse to give PIAB details of special damages being sought and provides for the revision, both upwards and crucially, downwards, of the Book of Quantum every three years. It mirrors reforms promised in the Government’s own Personal Injuries Assessment Board (Amendment) Bill which was published in June 2017 but has not been heard of since.
Speaking on the introduction of his Bill, Deputy McGrath stated that the actions coming out of the Government’s Cost of Insurance Working Group so far are “not substantial in nature” and went on to list a litany of meaningful reforms promised by the CIWG that have been either delayed or stalled.
Speaking on behalf of the Alliance for Insurance Reform, Eoin McCambridge, Managing Director of McCambridge’s of Galway said “we fully endorse Deputy McGrath’s bill, and in the absence of the Government’s own PIAB Amendment Bill, which was first published a full year ago, we would ask the Oireachtas to support it.”
The Bill was not opposed and will now move to Second Stage.
This Bill follows up on one introduced by Deputy Billy Kelleher (FF) on the 20th June. The Civil Liability and Courts (Amendment) Bill 2018 provides that where a court dismisses a case on the basis that it is a fraudulent action, the court must refer the matter to the DPP.
ENDS
For further information contact:
contact@insurancereform.ie
ALLIANCE FOR INSURANCE REFORM
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04/07/2018
Garda Insurance Fraud Unit Gets Funding Thumbs-Up
Alliance for Insurance Reform Demands Early Launch
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed the long-awaited confirmation from Insurance Ireland that they will fund the establishment of a new Garda Insurance Fraud Unit. The setting up of the unit is something the Alliance has been calling for to help prevent exaggerated and misleading claims being pursued and settled.
Commenting on the announcement, Peter Boland of the Alliance for Insurance Reform said ‘This is great news for anyone concerned about the scale and impact of fraudulent and exaggerated personal injury claims in Ireland. In particular, we note that the new fraud group will be funded by insurers but will be operationally independent of them. This is right and proper and will mean that there should be no barriers to the urgent establishment of the unit.
Boland further commented “There are a number of steps that are now required to ensure that the Unit is up and running as quickly as possible. Firstly, Insurance Ireland have said that all insurers writing insurance in Ireland should contribute, not just members of the industry lobby group. This is fair enough but negotiations should not be allowed to drag on in this regard. The cost-benefit analysis of this proposal by Insurance Ireland took over half a year and further delays cannot be tolerated by anyone suffering from sky-high insurance premiums or targeted by fraudulent insurance claimsters.
“Secondly, we need rapid enactment of the private members’ bill currently being pursued in the Dáil by Deputy Billy Kelleher TD. This requires that where a personal injury case is dismissed as exaggerated or misleading by the courts, that the courts shall send the transcript of the case and any relevant evidence to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
“Thirdly, we expect insurers to actively refer fraudulent claimsters to the new unit. The vast majority of personal injury claims never make it to court because most insurers settle before they get there, on the basis that it would cost more to pursue than to settle. This policy needs to change so that more insurers stand up to fraudsters on behalf of their customers and society.
“Finally and most importantly, we need political will from the current Government. The Minister with responsibility for insurance, Michael D’Arcy TD, said at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance on the 29th May that the Garda Insurance Fraud Unit is ‘a matter for the Gardai’. However the Alliance understand that the Gardai are ready for this and have the human resources to do it. Now that the finances are in place, it is up to the Government to ensure that there is a specific, urgent timeline established to quickly get the unit up and running in order to place a serious deterrent in the way of heedless claimsters, on behalf of Irish policyholders and society as a whole.”
ENDS
Further information from:
ALLIANCE FOR INSURANCE REFORM
peter@insurancereform.ie
________________________________________________
In a move certain to heap additional pressure on the Government regarding insurance reform, Deputy Billy Kelleher (FF) has this afternoon introduced the Civil Liability and Courts (Amendment) Bill 2018, a private members bill which provides that where a court dismisses a case on the basis that it is a fraudulent action, the court must refer the matter to the DPP.
The move follows the declaration by Michael McGrath, Fianna Fáil’s Finance Spokesperson on Morning Ireland earlier today that Insurance will be a key issue for Fianna Fáil along with Housing and Health in the run up to the next Budget.
Commenting on the move, Peter Boland of the Alliance for Insurance Reform said “This Amendment addresses a key Ask of the Alliance in that it provides the opportunity to sanction those who bring the personal injuries system into disrepute with fraudulent, exaggerated and misleading claims and we urge the Government to facilitate this Bill.”
Boland continued, “Despite intense activity, real reform in the insurance area has been impossibly slow. Charities, voluntary groups, sports clubs and employers are under untold pressure from unsustainable insurance costs right now and any delays on reform will lead to job losses and the shrinking of Irish society.”
ENDS
The 10 Asks of the Alliance for Insurance Reform are HERE
For further information, contact:
peter@insurancereform.ie
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18/06/2018
Demands for immediate action on insurance costs at Gorey meeting
Minister D’Arcy asked what is actually being done to avert crisis
A public meeting on Friday night in the Amber Springs Hotel in Gorey heard that the insurance crisis is hitting sectors as diverse as motorsport, kids’ play centres, grocery stores and road hauliers.
As well as a significant attendance from Wexford, attendees came from as far away as Galway and Navan. Attendee after attendee outlined how their insurance costs have sky-rocketed over the last 3 to 5 years and how this was endangering the future of their business or voluntary group.
Peter Boland of the Alliance for Insurance Reform reported to the meeting that Of the 48 ‘actions’ heralded in the Minister’s latest cost of Insurance Working Group update, 8 are reviews, 8 are consultations and 6 are reports. Many of the rest are meetings, proposals or ‘requests for consideration’.
Boland said ‘We call on the Minister to accelerate the pace at which real reform happens. Otherwise he will be presiding over a situation where many small businesses, charities, voluntary groups and festivals won’t be around by the time the promised real reforms happen.’
It was agreed at the meeting that the attendees will contact Minister D’Arcy, who did not attend, to express their frustration at the current pace of reform.
The following letter was subsequently sent to the Minister by Linda Murray, a business owner from Navan, co Meath:
Good morning Minister Darcy,
My name is Linda Murray and I am from Navan in Co Meath where I have two businesses in the leisure sector and almost 30 employees. I want to write and express my utmost concern for my two businesses which are threatened to close because of my insurance premiums. In one of my centres my insurance was €2.5k 5 years ago, this week I am being forced to pay €16k. I have needed to get a bank loan for that as I cannot afford it. In order to pay the loan I’ve had to let one staff member go and another will lose hours.
In our other centre our insurance has been €7.5k for 9 years, this year with no claims it rose to €15k. This is not sustainable. I was very much looking forward to meeting you last night at the Alliance for Insurance reform in the Amber Springs Hotel which is why my husband and I packed our two young kids in the car and drove to Wexford. You didn’t turn up after being invited. Can I please ask what you are doing about this and also why you didn’t come to such an important meeting? Half the people there last night were from your constituency! Surely that was worth being there for. Apart from the various reports that we keep getting told about what IS being done? What’s the delay of the Garda Fraud Unit? What’s being done to stop the massive pay outs that judges are awarding? We now have 22 groups represented in our Alliance for Insurance Group totalling 645,000 employees! That’s way too high a number to not take all of this very seriously.
I await your reply with anticipation.
Kind Regards,
Linda Murray
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29/05/2018
NEW GARDA FRAUD UNIT ABANDONED BY GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE FURY AS KEY REFORM EFFECTIVELY SHELVED
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has responded angrily to the revelation that the promised Garda Insurance Fraud Unit has been effectively abandoned by the Government’s Cost of Insurance Working Group.
Speaking at this evening’s Oireachtas Joint Committee On Finance, Minister of State at the Department of Finance with special responsibility for Insurance, Michael D’Arcy TD, said that the Garda Insurance Fraud Unit is ‘a matter for the Gardai’. Citing potential issues with Garda resources, he continued ‘I don’t have any authority to instruct the Garda Commissioner’ to set up the Unit.
Responding to further questioning by the Committee, Minister D’Arcy said that ‘Personally, I’m in two minds but my opinion doesn’t matter. It is up to the Garda Commissioner’ to make the decision to set up the Unit and that this is ‘Not a matter for the Acting Commissioner, it is up to the incoming Commissioner’.
Responding to this, Peter Boland of the Alliance for Insurance Reform said “This is a bombshell. This key measure has been on the agenda since Day One of the CIWG. Why has the CIWG been working on it for 18 months if it is now going to be shelved? The Minister is abdicating responsibility for a cornerstone of his own reforms. This does not auger well for the rest of the promised actions.
“Additionally, the whole point of this unit being funded by the insurance industry was that it wouldn’t be a drain on Garda resources.”
The minister also confirmed that the key National Claims Information Database would not be operational until 2019.
Commented Boland “This means that we won’t have any useable data on the insurance industry until 2020 at the earliest, which means that the industry will have had a holiday from any data oversight for a minimum of five years. Five years unsupervised is a very long time for such an important industry and this further emphasises the importance of reinstating and enhancing the Blue Book in the meantime.”
Finally, Boland commented that “of the 48 ‘actions’ heralded in the minister’s speech tonight, 8 are reviews, 8 are consultations and 6 are reports. Many of the rest are meetings, proposals and requests for consideration.
“This is not progress and we are not seeing any positive effects of those actions in our members’ premiums”.
ENDS
For further information contact:
Peter Boland, peter@insurancereform.ie
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 17/05/2018
INSURANCE REFORM GROUP DEMANDS TRANSPARENCY FROM INSURERS
LATEST REVELATIONS SHOW INDUSTRY HAS SERIOUS QUESTIONS TO ANSWER ABOUT ITS ROLE IN INSURANCE CRISIS
Following on from the latest revelations about the European Commission’s investigations into the Irish insurance industry, the Alliance for Insurance Reform has demanded real transparency to be imposed on the industry.
Commenting on the latest revelations, Peter Boland, spokesperson for the Alliance for Insurance Reform said, “These latest allegations regarding restricted access to the Irish insurance market are shocking but not surprising. Our members have suspected as much and have been paying the price for years. It is remarkable that such a valuable market, worth over €2bn, is controlled by so few underwriters with 90% of the motor insurance market controlled by 6 companies and 80% of business insurance controlled by 6 also.
“Today’s reports further highlight the urgent need for transparency in this market. We fully understand why insurers would prefer to operate under a cloak of secrecy but this industry is too important to Irish society and has too many mandatory elements to it, to be allowed continue to operate in this cavalier fashion. Right now the industry in putting up fierce resistance to any elements of the new National Claims Information Database that would shed some light on their practices, while happily cherry-picking the elements of the new database that will reduce their costs.
“Equally, the Central Bank, which is supposed to be supervising the insurers on behalf of consumers, is actually doing the opposite, having abolished the only data that offered some insight into the industry, the so-called ‘Blue Book’ so that there is now no usable data available on the industry.
“We call on the minister responsible, Michael Darcy, to protect the new National Claims Information Database from the influence of vested interests. Additionally, we demand that control of analysis and reporting of the National Claims Information Database be given to the neutral Personal Injuries Assessment Board rather than the Central Bank, which is now hopelessly compromised. And finally, we insist that the Blue Book be immediately reinstated and enhanced to restore the only transparency there previously was in the market before the Central Bank discontinued it in 2016.”
ENDS
For further information contact:
Peter Boland at peter@insurancereform.ie
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PRESS RELEASE 14/05/2018
GOVERNMENT INSURANCE REFORM GOES INTO REVERSE
ALLIANCE FOR INSURANCE REFORM CALLS FOR INJECTION OF URGENCY AT CIWG
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has called for the Government to inject a sense of urgency into the work of their Cost of Insurance Working Group after the CIWG’s fifth update, quietly slipped out last Friday evening, chronicled a litany of missed opportunities and inaction.
Peter Boland of the Alliance commented “The Cost of Insurance Working Group is the government’s flagship response to the insurance crisis affecting charities, voluntary groups, sports organisations, small businesses and motorists nationally. Unfortunately, it has gone into reverse, with real reform being replaced by a never-ending series of consultations, reports and reviews. Of the 48 ‘actions’ heralded in Friday’s update, 8 are reviews, 8 are consultations and 6 are reports. Many of the rest are meetings, proposals and ‘requests for consideration’.
“The real reforms in the Report have stalled. There has been no progress for 6 months now on the proposed Garda Insurance Fraud Unit; the protocol requiring insurance companies to notify policyholders of the progress of claims made against them has stalled; and legislation compelling insurance companies to communicate the reason for large premium increases has been abandoned.
“While the CIWG runs out of steam, the Central Bank has axed the Blue Book, the only data that was available to provide some transparency to this industry; and Minister Heather Humphreys plans to appoint a personal injuries lawyer to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board – effectively throwing a fox into the chicken coop.”
ISME reported earlier in May that 84% of SMEs are reporting an increase in their business insurance premiums and 83% are experiencing increased motor insurance premiums. Ireland Underground, an online forum for young drivers, are saying that younger drivers are not seeing any reductions in their premiums and older cars still cannot get quotes.
“So while the talk from Government is of actions and reforms, their actions suggests less transparency, no reform and the increased facilitation of vested interests.
“We call on the Government to an give injection of urgency to the CIWG and demonstrate that they have the political will to drive reform. This is a matter of real urgency for the thousands of organisations around the country dreading their next renewal.”
ENDS
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Thursday 03/05/2018
INSURANCE REFORM GROUP DEMANDS THAT SUSPECT CLAIMANTS BE PROSECUTED
MINISTER CALLED ON TO ACCELERATE REFORM AND AVOID FUDGES
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has lashed out at the slow pace of reform of the Irish insurance market as another claim for personal injuries is dismissed by a judge saying that the claimant was ‘an unimpressive witness’ and that the court had concluded that the accident on which the claim was based had not occurred.
Sitting in the Circuit Civil Court, Judge Terence O’Sullivan said that there had been troubling aspects in a case in which Co Tyrone man Tom McDonagh had, with six of his extended family, sued a Dublin lorry owner for damages of up to €60,000 each. Judge O’Sullivan dismissed all seven cases and awarded costs against the adult members of the family.
Peter Boland, spokesperson for the Alliance for Insurance Reform commented, “The law says that if a person knowingly gives evidence in a personal injuries action that is false or misleading in any material respect, he or she shall be guilty of an offence. A person guilty of such an offence shall be liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding €100,000, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, or to both. We want to know if the insurance companies involved in cases like this are going to seek prosecutions under Section 25 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 quoted above and if not, why not?
“In too many cases the policyholder wins but still ends up paying higher premiums because someone has to pay for the legal costs and increasingly, our members are telling us that plaintiffs ride off into the sunset without paying their costs or being pursued for them by the insurers.
“Insurance companies and the judiciary cannot oversee a situation where the worst that can happen in suspicious court cases is that the plaintiff walks away without fear of real sanctions.
“Equally, we call on the minister responsible, Michael Darcy, to accelerate the pace of progress of the reform promised by the Cost of Insurance Working Group. Much has been made of the potential of this Report but all we are can see right now is fudge after fudge. Specifically, the reform of Sections 25, 26 and 29 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 which cover the area of insurance fraud are being reformed via a protocol with the insurance industry. We have seen voluntary protocols used time after time by the insurance industry as a means of avoiding meaningful reform and this is not acceptable to policyholders any more. “
ENDS
REFERENCE: “Family’s personal injuries claim totalling €420k dismissed after judge rules there ‘was no accident'” Ray Managh, Irish Independent May 2nd 2018
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/familys-personal-injuries-claim-totalling-420k-dismissed-after-judge-rules-there-was-no-accident-36866602.html
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MONDAY 30th APRIL 2018
Insurance policy holders ask for a seat on the PIAB
Government intent on increasing lawyers’ influence
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has today highlighted that the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD intends to appoint two further directors to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, the independent state body which assesses personal injury compensation; and is specifically limiting the appointments to candidates with legal and medical backgrounds.
On behalf of the Alliance, Peter Boland said “we have conveyed our serious concern at this plan. It increases even further the influence of vested interests who profit from the current claims crisis, with insurers, medical experts and the legal profession all getting a seat on the Board.
“Meanwhile, the sectors most directly affected by the current crisis – small and medium-sized businesses, charities, sports clubs, voluntary groups and other small organisations and individual policy holders – remain voiceless, while being expected to pick up the tab.
“What makes this situation even more galling is that the legal profession, some of whose members have worked tirelessly to undermine the work of the PIAB, will now be represented on the Board.”
The Alliance has appealed to the Minister to rescind the current process and commit to including a representative of small policyholders on the Board with immediate effect.
___________________________________________________
Press release – 18 April 2018
Alliance for Insurance Reform calls for prosecution for false or misleading personal injury claims
Alliance to present proposals for meaningful insurance reform to Oireachtas Committee on Business, Enterprise and Innovation.
The Alliance for Insurance Reform, the group which brings together representative bodies from the not-for-profit, charity, sports and small and medium-sized business sectors across Ireland, will today present a suite of practical measures to tackle crippling insurance premiums when it appears before the Oireachtas Committee on Business, Enterprise and Innovation.
The Alliance, comprising of 20 civic and business representative organisations from across Ireland, represented by 35,000 members, over 633,000 employees and 41,300 volunteers, was formed this year in response to the spiralling cost of business insurance and the impact this is having on the viability of businesses, sporting organisations, festivals and charities.
The proposals cover areas of prevention, consistency and transparency in how liability and motor insurance claims are addressed including a call for an automatic referral to the Gardaí for prosecution for a plaintiff that knowingly gives or adduces evidence that is false or misleading in a personal injury claim. Other proposals include a call for a Garda insurance fraud unit to be established immediately; regulation of claims harvesting websites, also known as ambulance chasers; and a requirement for judges to set out detailed reasoning for payouts on injury claims which are in excess of the general guidelines.
Peter Boland, spokesperson for the Alliance, said:
“Excessive insurance premiums are pushing Irish businesses and civic organisations to the brink and efforts for reform have been halted by vested interests including the legal profession and insurance industry. The Alliance for Insurance Reform has come together as a group to set out practical, achievable steps to reduce spiralling costs for our members. Since the launch of the Alliance, we have met with the Minister and numerous state bodies and officials and yet no progress is visible. If this Committee wants to have a real impact on sharply rising business costs, then it must act on our proposals with a sense of urgency.”
The Alliance for Insurance Reform is also calling for:
- The Statute of Limitations on personal injury claims be reduced from 2 years to 1 year
- Change to the approach in calculating the Book of Quantum
- Reinstate the Blue Book, the former insurance statistics publication
- Individualised explanations to policy-holders for how premiums are settled
- Notification to policyholders about the progress of claims against them
- National Claims Information Database be given to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board and not The Central Bank
ENDS
EXTRACT FROM SUBMISSION TO BUSINESS COMMITTEE – SUMMARY OF TEN POINT ACTION PLAN
The actions we are suggesting are in the areas of Prevention, Consistency and Transparency. We believe them to be just, proportionate, feasible, achievable within a limited timeframe and ultimately, effective.
They are as follows:
PREVENTION
To quote a member of the audience at a public meeting we held in Cork in February, “if I had a need for big money and I had a choice between robbing a bank and faking an injury, I’d pick the fake injury every day. More money and no consequences if I’m found out.” We absolutely acknowledge the right of genuine claimants to fair compensation. But people have accidents all over the world. It is the consequences for Irish policyholders that appear unique.
- Link Sections 26 and 25 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004
We want an amendment to the Act such that if a case is dismissed under Section 26 of the Act because the plaintiff knowingly gives or adduces evidence that is false or misleading, it must be automatically referred to an Garda Siochana for a prosecution under Section 25, which penalises such an offence with a substantial fine or imprisonment or both unless a defendant deliberately falsely accuses a plaintiff of giving such evidence.
- Establish a Garda Insurance Fraud Unit
The CIWG Motor Insurance Reports promised a dedicated Garda unit to focus exclusively on the investigation of insurance fraud. We want the Unit established as a matter of urgency. The Minister tells us that there is not enough support in the House for this. If this is the case, we urge any opposing parties to clarify their concerns and resolve whatever blockages exist.
- Regulate claims management companies (claims harvesters)
Our members tell us that claim harvesting websites are acting as the ambulance chasers of old, pursuing potential claimants with promises of money to be made, regardless of how dubious the claim is and with no costs or consequences. They are adding fuel to the fire of fraudulent, exaggerated and misleading claims and must be regulated by the State in order to protect policyholders and society as a whole. In particular, any referral fees they might charge to refer live cases onto solicitors must be banned outright. It is not sufficient that Government pass this onto the LSRA which is still in the process of establishing itself. Regulation must be brought forward now.
- Amend Sections 7 & 8 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004
We ask that two amendments be introduced to the Act:
a) that Section 7 relating to the Statute of Limitations on PI claims be reduced from 2 years to 1 year. As the average time for a claim to be registered with PIAB following an accident is 9 and a half months, this will not disadvantage claimants. But it will mean that policyholders premium reserves will be one year shorter than is currently the case.
b) the language of Section 8, which purports to oblige a plaintiff to inform a defendant about an incident within 2 months, is so conditional as to be useless and is ignored in our experience. We ask that it is tightened up so that judges must take into account any delay in notification before allowing a case to proceed. The Department of Finance have said they are pursuing this with the Department of Justice but we want it done urgently.
CONSISTENCY
As documented elsewhere, the general damages awarded for minor injuries in Ireland bear no relation to those made in other countries which makes Ireland a very attractive place to have a minor accident. Additionally, there is no consistency between awards for identical injuries within the jurisdiction which makes it very attractive in personal injury cases to reject a PIAB offer and head for the courts, safe in the knowledge that with the right judge, the rewards may be substantially better.
- Change the Approach to Calculating the Book of Quantum
The Court of Appeal has already established that the ceiling on general damages for catastrophic injuries is €450,000. They have also established that the concepts of common sense and proportionality are central to the principles of proper compensation. We call for a revised book of quantum calculated on that percentage disability basis as a matter of urgency through the Personal Injuries Commission which is currently only looking at solutions for motor whiplash claims. Government should extend its remit to all injuries immediately.
- Encourage Consistency Among the Judiciary
The 2004 Civil Liability and Courts Act should be amended to require judges who award damages in excess of the Book of Quantum to set out a detailed reasoning for doing so.
TRANSPARENCY
The insurance industry is of systemic importance to the proper functioning of Irish society and is enshrined as such in much legislation and regulation. And yet there is virtually no transparency in this market either at industry or individual policyholder level.
7. Control the data coming from the new National Claims Information Database
We demand that control of analysis and reporting of the National Claims Information Database be given to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board rather than the Central Bank. PIAB has the expertise and funding necessary and no additional legislation would be required as Section 54 and Section 55 of the PIAB Act of 2003 already allow for this function.
8.Reinstate the Blue Book
Equally, we insist that the Blue Book be immediately reinstated and enhanced to restore the only transparency there previously was in the market before the Central Bank discontinued it in 2016.
9. Scrap and revisit the agreed Large Increases Protocol
The very first Recommendation in the CIWG Motor Insurance Report was that Insurers set out reasons for large increases in premiums to consumers. The Protocol produced from this recommendation was one of the first actions to be ticked as completed in the CIWG Updates. However, the Protocol as agreed between the Department of Finance and the insurance industry is a good example of how the CIWG is being strangled. We would be better off without it as it only creates the impression that something has been achieved when it hasn’t. We want a meaningful protocol agreed for both motor and liability insurance policyholders that individualises explanations with clear calculations showing the basis of premium charges.
10. Reinstate the 2003 IIF/IBEC Protocol on Dealing with Claims
Almost a year was spent by the Department of Finance and Insurance Ireland talking in circles about a protocol for notifying policyholders about the progress of claims against them before the Department discovered a pre-existing protocol agreed by Insurance Ireland’s predecessor the IIF and IBEC in 2003. The insurance industry is now resisting it being implemented anew. We demand that it is implemented immediately, backed by legislation, for both the motor insurance and liability insurance sectors.
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20th March 2018
Fury over lack of insurance reform
Policy holders have been ‘thrown to the wolves’ by Government
The Alliance of insurance Reform has expressed its intense disappointment at the slow pace of reform in the insurance and judicial industries following a meeting with Michel D’Arcy TD, Minister of State with special responsibility for Insurance at Government Buildings today.
Speaking after the meeting, Eoin McCambridge of McCambridges of Galway and director of the Alliance said:
“The Government promised ‘to identify immediate and longer term measures which can address increasing costs’, when they launched the Cost of Insurance Working Group in September 2016. We turned up at Government Buildings today expecting news on significant actions. What we have got instead is death by a thousand consultations and the dead hand of vested interests . The hard-pressed motorists, charities, voluntary groups, sports clubs and businesses around the country cannot wait for reform. It must happen now.
The Government has been hoodwinked into believing motor insurance premiums are on the way down. In reality, they are up 42% since January 2014, with increasing numbers of young drivers and owners of older cars unable to get insurance at all.
Meanwhile, charities, voluntary groups, sports clubs and businesses are reporting enormous increases in their liability insurance premiums, a crisis happening behind closed doors due to the lack of any data from the secretive insurance industry. We feel like we’ve been thrown to the wolves by the Government with no real help in sight.”
Ivan Cooper, Director of Advocacy with The Wheel (Ireland’s national association for community, voluntary and charitable organisations) said after the meeting:
“The insurance issue is increasingly impacting on our members in terms of their costs and the restrictions placed on their activities by insurance policies. This situation is unsustainable as it is a block on voluntary organisations who want to contribute to Irish society. We are calling today for an acceleration in the pace of reform in the industry.”
Also speaking after the meeting was Peter Boland of the Alliance for Insurance Reform. He said:
“The CIWG Reports are now littered with examples of positive-sounding actions that have been interminably delayed or neutered. For example, a protocol was proposed that would oblige insurance companies to notify a policyholder of claims made against them before settlement. This was supposed to be in place since the end of 2017 but has disappeared into the ether.
Likewise, a Garda Unit specialising in insurance fraud and funded by the insurance industry was due to be in place by the end of last year. Again, this has disappeared without trace.
Furthermore, what has been completed is completely unsatisfactory. For example the insurance industry was to be compelled to explain large premium increases to motorists. Instead, what was agreed between the industry and the Department of Finance was a blend generic statement that will be sent out with every premium increase and is a masterclass in saying everything and saying nothing. (https://www.aig.ie/existing-customers/renewal-quote-explained)
“Overall, the Government’s CIWG is turning into a long-term process and there is no point in a long-term process to address an urgent issue. The actions the Alliance are focusing on are ones we believe to be just, proportionate, feasible, achievable within a limited timeframe and ultimately, we believe, effective.”
The actions the Alliance wants taken right now are :
PREVENTION OF FRAUDULENT, MISLEADING AND EXAGGERATED CLAIMS
- Link Sections 26 and 25 of the Civil Liability Act 2004 so that if a claim is dismissed because it is false or misleading, it is automatically referred to the Gardai for prosecution under Section 25.
- Push on the establishment of the Garda Insurance Fraud Unit funded by Insurance Industry
- Regulate claims management companies (claims harvesters)
CONSISTENCY
- General damages to be consistent with comparable European norms
- Tariffs for specific injuries to be proportionate with the Court of Appeal cap of €450,000 for catastrophic injuries
- Consistency in the awarding of general damages among judges
TRANSPARENCY
- Transparent data on the insurance industry so that we can identify why the crisis is happening
- Transparency from insurance companies on why individual premiums are increased
- Transparency from insurance companies on how, when and why claims are settled.
Commented McCambridge, “It was agreed that the Alliance would meet the Minister and his team again soon to follow up on progress. We will be expecting a lot more action soon if reform is going to make any difference for our members”.
ENDS
For media enquiries please contact:
Peter Boland, Alliance for Insurance Reform.
086 8266036
6th March 2018
ALLIANCE FOR INSURANCE REFORM DEMANDS FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY TO OVERSEE THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY
Policyholders being fleeced while Government dawdles
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has today lashed out at the negligible pace of progress in the Government’s Cost of Insurance Working Group and demanded that a statutory financial conduct authority be established to supervise the insurance industry on behalf of policyholders, in the wake of recent reports on the massive increases in insurance company profits.
Insurance group FBD Holdings last week declared profits of €44.9m for 2017 while RSA Insurance Ireland posted profits of €10.8m.
Reacting to the news, Eoin McCambridge, director of the Alliance for Insurance Reform said “Insurance companies are now declaring enormous profits again in Ireland and yet there has been no meaningful reform of the personal injury system they have been blaming for their woes. The same companies claimed to be ‘on their knees’ in 2014 yet now, despite no delivery on the personal injury changes they insisted were vital, they are rolling in money. These profits are being made off the backs of hard-pressed charities, voluntary groups, sports clubs and businesses trying to stay open against a background of unsustainably high insurance premiums. To be frank, it looks increasingly clear that Irish policy holders are being fleeced by the industry”.
Commenting on the progress of the Government’s Cost of Insurance Working Group, Peter Boland of the Alliance said “The Government promised real reform in the insurance market for the benefit of policy holders. However their fourth update on the cost of motor insurance, slipped out without a fanfare two weeks ago, makes it abundantly clear that their focus has shifted to protecting the insurance industry. Any of the meaningful actions in the Report designed to shed some transparency on this secretive industry have been further delayed by a combination of Government inaction and industry resistance.
“Furthermore, there has been no meaningful progress on key issues related to the prevention of fraudulent, exaggerated or misleading claims or on the issue of sky-high and inconsistent awards for personal injury.
“Our members feel that this Working Group is increasingly looking like a mechanism for getting the Government over the next election campaign without achieving any real reform of the industry, leaving the insurance companies and other vested interests free to continue fleecing us. This is why we are today calling for a financial conduct authority be established on statutory basis to supervise the insurance industry. This would be an authority capable of protecting the interests of policyholders, without bending to the representations of vested interests. The Central Bank is not capable of fulfilling this role as it is currently tasked. Its responsibility to support the sustainability the insurance industry means that it is too close to insurers to look after policyholders as well and is fundamentally conflicted.”
ENDS
The Alliance for Insurance Reform is holding three public meetings regarding the current insurance crisis in Galway, Limerick and Cork .
Thursday 8th February: Galway City
Time: 8pm
Venue: The Ardilaun Hotel, Taylor’s Hill, Galway
Friday 9th: Limerick City
Time: 8pm
Venue: The Strand Hotel, Ennis Road, Limerick
Monday 12th: Cork City
Time: 8pm
Venue: The Metropole Hotel, MacCurtain St, Cork
The meetings are scheduled to last one hour. The agenda at all three is as follows:
- Presentation on Alliance
- Research presentation
- What we want
- Suggestions Session – what changes will make a real difference now!
PRESS RELEASE 25.01.18
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