The value of individual motor insurance claims is dropping at a rate which one insurance professional says has surprised many in the industry. The frequency of claims has also decreased substantially, though actual figures will not be available until next year, writes Brian Byrne.;;;
Both in judicial awards and in payouts in non-contested claims, the insurance companies are now seeing reduced liabilities of anything between 10 and 50 per cent, according to both legal and insurance sources. This confirms anecdotal evidence of a trend which has been happening only in the past six months.
One insurance company spokesman said last week that "we are seeing a major shift" in the claim and compensation trends.
And Michael Garvey, director of claims for the largest insurance company in the Irish market, Hibernian, says there is evidence that legal costs are decreasing, with the involvement of barristers no longer being as big an issue in overall claims costs.
A significant degree of credit for the change is being attributed to strong news media coverage of fraudulent insurance claims in a "disgraceful" compensation culture, as one spokesperson put it. Just last October, the level of fraudulent insurance claims were estimated to be costing Irish industry €1.5 billion a year.
More than half of all claims in 2001 involved motor insurance, where legal costs accounted for 40 per cent of all such claims.
And the Motor Insurance Bureau of Ireland (MIBI), which in 2001 paid out €50 million to cover accidents not covered by insurance, launched a strong campaign to tackle bogus "phantom" claims. Last July, the insurance industry-funded MIBI decided it would refuse claims unless the accident was reported to the Garda within 48 hours.
Many claims are lodged up to two years after alleged incidents, making it practically impossible to investigate.
The insurance industry also undertook a strong advertising campaign highlighting how fraudulent claims were hitting the pockets of every citizen. "The fact that most of the insurers have set up their own fraud units, often staffed by ex-gardai, is also making people wary of trying false claims," says Garvey.
The penalty points was also a "kick-off point" for a change in the situation, which helped to further open public discussion of motor insurance costs, and the effect of having points on a licence.
Specific mention was made in the insurance industry of a recent series on fraud in The Irish Times, and an RTÉ documentary on fraudulent claims "which people are still talking about". One company's spokeswoman confirmed that they were seeing a decrease in the incidence of motor claims, particularly from third parties.
And there is a suggestion that judicial awards are running at the same figure in euro that would previously have been made in pounds, which means an approximate cut of a fifth in their value.
"This trend began last September", according to Michael Garvey. "And it seems to have triggered something similar in the non-contested claims, changing the negotiating stance of the legal people."
Challenges to the legal profession, and bad publicity over insurance claims fees, may also be having an effect.
According to last year's MIAB report, fees could average 72 per cent of the compensation paid out on claims of €5,000 or less, the threshold for 80 per cent of all motor claims. Legal and other "expert professional" fees appear to be substantially reduced.
Premiums could be reduced further if the Government presses ahead with plans for a personal injuries assessment board, Michael Berkery of FBD Insurance said recently.
The PIAB is expected to be in operation next year, and as part of the process, MIAB chairperson Dorothea Dowling has promised to produce a "Book of Quantum" which will detail the level of payments which should be made for injuries of different degree.
"She has said that it will be based on current values," Garvey noted. "The downside, perhaps, is that we may then not see awards getting any lower. But Ms Dowling has also said she's making no provision of barrister fees, so it may well be that they will be eliminated altogether from the equation."