A CUT in the cost of making a claim to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board should result in lower insurance premiums, Minister for Enterprise Batt O’Keeffe has said.
He was commenting on the announcement yesterday by the board that it is to cut the fees it charges individuals and insurance firms to make a claim or use its services.
The board was established by government in 2004 amid concerns that compensations sought in the courts for injuries were growing exponentially.
The independent body assesses how much a person should be awarded for an injury for which another person or organisation is responsible.
Mr O’Keeffe has accepted a recommendation by the board to reduce the fee insurance companies pay to use its services from €1,050 to €850. The fee paid by claimants is to fall from €50 to €40 for an online application and to €45 for a postal one.
“The injuries board has estimated that the new rates will cut costs for the claimants and insurance firms by about €2 million each year,” said Mr O’Keeffe.
His department is preparing a statutory instrument to give effect to the fee reduction.
Patricia Byron, chief executive of the board, said the reduction was possible after the careful management of resources and the successful outcome of a number of court challenges.
CSO figures show motor insurance premiums are 30 per cent lower than they were eight years ago, and Mr O’Keeffe said he “expects insurance firms to pass on the new fee reduction to their customers and further reduce premiums”.
