The Irish Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) said that it is continuing to process claims at a rate that is three times faster and four times cheaper than the old litigation based process whilst still providing similar value awards.
The body, set up as part of the Government's successful plan to tackle rising insurance costs, said in its annual report that early settlement of claims was “growing” due to the board's influence. It added that most of the legal profession was now working with the PIAB.
The PIAB said that its 2005 figures showed that it delivered compensation within 9 months while the litigation process delivered compensation in 3 years.
“The average cost of processing a claim under the PIAB system is 10% of the award made, while under litigation that figures was 46%,” it said.
Patricia Byron PIAB chief executive said: “The fact of PIAB's existence and its consistent performance in providing a more cost effective and quicker process has led to a major change in the redress culture amongst respondents and claimants.”
“We are finding, for example, that many claims notified to us through our lo-call number 1890 829 121, are being settled right away between the parties. But perhaps the most encouraging news is that the majority of the legal community are engaging with PIAB wholeheartedly and that is reflected in the figures supplied to us by the Courts Service,” she added.
In 2004, a total of 35,000 writs were issued in respect of personal injury cases to the High and Circuit Courts. This figure dropped to 4,000 in 2005 following the inception of PIAB.
Byron said: “This shows that whether claims are being settled between claimants and respondents following PIAB's intervention or being settled directly through PIAB, much fewer are going to Court with its attendant trauma and cost. A knock-on effect of that is that the legal diaries are now free to tackle other urgent cases.”
The 2005 annual figures also showed, according to the board, that the PIAB had, within two years of its establishment, moved to an operational model that required no state subvention. The cost of processing claims is being fully met by the charges it levies, it said.
