Financil turmoil 'will not lead to premium rise' says Injuries Board chief executive
Patricia Byron, the chief executive of the Injuries Board has hit out at speculation that insurance premiums should rise by 10 to 20 per cent in Ireland.
Responding to recent predictions by the Irish Broker’s Association that international investment market conditions will result in a hike of up to 20 per cent in insurance costs here, Byron said: "Claims costs are the prime drivers of insurance premiums in Ireland and there has been no significant change in claims costs in recent months.
“Since the Injuries Board was established in 2004, the delivery (administration) cost to insurance companies of claims settled through the Board has fallen from nearly 50 per cent to less than 8 per cent. This has helped drive down the cost of insurance in recent years.
She added: “At a time of economic downturn, with cost pressures facing business and consumers alike, it is important that the hard-earned cuts in insurance premiums of recent years are not reversed on the basis of tenuous or unsubstantiated links to global investment market turmoil.”
The InjuriesBoard, formerly the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, is an independent statutory body, which assesses the amount of compensation due to a person who has suffered a personal injury in Ireland
