13th December 2022
Dara Calleary TD, Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment welcomes the enactment of the Personal Injuries Resolution Board Bill 2022. The Personal Injuries Resolution Board Bill 2022 was signed into law by President Michael D Higgins today.
Minister Calleary said:
“The President signing the Personal Injuries Resolution Board Bill 2022 into law delivers on an important Programme for Government commitment and represents a significant step-change in Ireland’s personal injuries framework. It will establish PIAB as a new and enhanced Personal Injuries Resolution Board.
“This Act provides a time and cost-efficient alternative to litigating personal injury claims. The new Resolution Board model will see more cases resolved in a timely, cost-effective way.”
The Act amends the Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act 2003-2019 to provide that the Personal Injuries Resolution Board will:
- offer mediation as a means of resolving a claim
- have additional time to assess claims where an injury is yet to settle rather than releasing to litigation
- seek proof of identity on application and disclose information to An Garda Síochána to reduce fraud
- deepen its analysis and public information roles
Minister Calleary added:
“Enactment of this legislation has been a priority for me since my appointment as Minister. The Act will enhance the PIAB model to not only encourage more claimants and respondents to avail of its service but crucially offers an additional means of resolving claims via mediation, thereby reducing the need to go to court and reducing the cost of personal injury claims. I wish to acknowledge the cross-party support for the legislation and the swift passage of the legislation through the Oireachtas.”
“This Government has prioritised and delivered insurance reform. The reforms we have implemented through the Action Plan on Insurance Reform have been sought by interest groups and the insurance industry. Across Government, significant work has been undertaken under the Action Plan to address issues in the insurance market.
“This legislation is an important milestone. Together with implementation of the Action Plan for Insurance Reform it will help reduce the costs of personal injury claims and facilitate reductions in insurance premiums. However, Government action alone is not enough to reduce the high costs of insurance. If we are to have a competitive and dynamic economy, we need to see savings from Government-led reforms passed on to customers. The continuation of the Sub-Group on Insurance Reform will ensure issues in the insurance market will remain on the Government agenda.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
Insurance reform
The Programme for Government contains commitments which together clearly demonstrate the government’s ambitions for real reform of insurance to deliver an insurance system which is both affordable and reliable and one which underpins a vibrant economy.
The Sub-Group on Insurance Reform under the Cabinet Committee on Economic Recovery and Investment, chaired by the Tánaiste, with membership from Ministers and Ministers of State, is tasked with driving insurance reform on a cross-governmental approach.
The ‘Action Plan for Insurance Reform’ was launched on 8 December 2020. The Action Plan sets out 66 actions for reform to bring down the costs for consumers and business and to introduce more competition into the market.
The development and enactment of the Personal Injuries Resolution Board Act Bill 2022 delivers on Action 19 of the Action Plan for Insurance Reform.
About PIAB (Personal Injuries Assessment Board)
PIAB was established in April 2004 to fairly, promptly, and transparently compensate the victims of accidents involving personal injuries in a cost-effective manner.
PIAB independently assesses claims for compensation arising from personal injuries sustained as a result of a motor, workplace, or public liability incident. Under the Personal Injuries Assessment Board Acts 2003-2019, all personal injury claims, with certain exceptions, such as medical negligence cases, must be submitted to PIAB unless they are settled by the parties involved at an early stage.
The Central Bank’s reporting under the National Claims Information Database (NCID) highlights the benefits of PIAB. It shows that claims settled through the Board are settled faster and have much lower legal costs than those settled by litigation, despite having similar award levels for claimants.
One of the main findings of the Central Bank’s report published on 15 November is their examination that the vast bulk of claim, 94% of injury claims amount less than €100,000.
- Where settled directly, average compensation was €13,933 and average legal costs €1,568.
- Where settled via PIAB, average compensation was €21,856 and average legal costs €686.
- Where settled via litigation, average compensation was €24,174 and average legal costs were €15,567.
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