Rosalind Carroll, the head of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, says Central Bank report shows her organisation resolves claims at fraction of the costs of litigation. Photograph: Alan BetsonInsurers in the Republic posted a €128 million operating loss in 2020 on public and employers’ liability and commercial property cover, as the industry was hit by business interruption claims from the Covid-19 crisis, according to Central Bank data.
The combined loss across the three categories contrasts sharply with the €163 million of operating profits generated by motor insurance in Ireland in 2020, according to a separate Central Bank report published last year. That equated to a 12 per cent profit ratio and was fuelled as road accidents and claims declined during Covid-19 restrictions.
The average earned premium for all package policies fell by 17 per cent between 2009 and 2013, before soaring 25 per cent over the subsequent six years and increasing a further 2 per cent in 2020. This delivered an overall increase of 5.5 per cent over the 11-year period. The Alliance for Insurance Reform says that there are dozens of sectors and subsectors across the economy that are currently struggling to get coverage or have been reduced to one provider. These range from adventure centres to bouncy-castle operators, festivals, and minority sports.
For public liability claims under €150,000, cases settled through PIAB resulted in average awards of €26,507 between 2015 and 2020 and legal costs of €1,579. Those that were litigated yielded average awards of €25,401 but legal costs approaching €19,000.