Vivienne Clarke
New guidelines on insurance awards have not yet had an impact on court cases in the system, the chief executive of Insurance Ireland has said.
Moyagh Murdock welcomed the new guidelines on insurance payouts which “bodes well” for reduced awards for soft tissue injuries, and defended the delay in passing on a reduction in motor insurance premiums to customers.
She told RTÉ radio’s News at One that it will take some time for cases to be “flushed through the system”.
Ms Murdock said it was important to point out that the cost of premiums had already come down in the past 18 months, with a reduction of nine per cent at the end of 2019, a further 6.5 per cent in 2020, and premiums continuing to fall in 2021.
Claims were only one element in terms of the cost of insurance premiums, she added. The new guidelines should also reduce the need for litigation, she said. There had been €56 million in refunds in 2020.
Ms Murdock pointed out that traffic volumes had not been as low in the most recent lockdown as they had been this time last year and that would have to be taken into account.
