15th November 2025
7th November 2025 Highland Radio Broadcast
On the penultimate show for 2025 the report from the Central Bank on the cost of Motor Insurance was up for discussion. Greg Hughes referenced the point in relation to repair costs and the impact they are having on premiums. Seamus Gunn said despite the ongoing discussion and contributions from Alliance for Insurance Reform and Insurance Ireland, none have explained how what is reported as a 9% increase in the cost of motor insurance could be justified when the average cost of claims had only increased by 3%. It would seem that the difference has not been analysed to date. Gunn said that while insurance profits were down to around 4% for 2024 from 12% in 2022, damage claims now accounted for 54% of settled claims’ costs which was in stark contrast to Injury Claims which, over the same period, were down in or around 30% on 2020 values. Our contributor said that on his interpretation he did not see this saving being passed on to the consumer as policy premiums continued to rise. He said that for some time the legal profession was being highlighted as adding significantly to the costs of claims due to litigation but he was of the view that legal costs could be avoided if the insurance companies were more proactive in dealing with claims at an earlier stage and engaging positively to settle. The statistics speak for themselves and while insurance companies can continue to complain, they still are reaping the profits, yet no one explains the difference of 6% our contributor referenced at the start of the discussion today. He also thought that there could be more scrutiny in dealing with the damage/repair claims which are having such an impact on the cost of cover. In the meantime, the ordinary consumer continues to pay while there are still many questions left unanswered.
The varied Q&A that followed can be listened to below.
20th April 2022
1st April 2022 Highland Radio Broadcast
The show kicked off this morning by way of a telephone link. The challenge which commenced in the High Court midweek against the Judicial Council’s adoption of the Personal Injury guidelines was highlighted as having potentially serious implications for the public and the insurance industry. Our contributor Seamus Gunn explained with the introduction of PIAB in 2003, the emphasis was on trying to bring some certainty to awards and to reduce legal fees in respect of the pursuit of such claims. He said that the case in point was being brought by a lady in Dungarvan as a result of a fractured bone in her ankle and that while the accident occurred prior to March 2021, it was not assessed until the new guidelines were in place. He explained that under the old system she could have expected General Damages of € 18,000.00 – € 25,000.00 in respect of such an injury, but that the award came in at € 3,000.00 and was obviously going to be challenged. He said that it would be interesting to see how this was going to play out as the very purpose for which the Injuries Board was set up would now be frustrated as all such claims would likely go down the Judicial route, therefore adding significantly to legal costs as it was highly unlikely that such awards would be accepted. He said that PIAB and the book of quantum had been working adequately and that 70 – 80% of claims were being dealt with at this level. A lot of interested parties will be awaiting the outcome of this case.
The collapsing of the 2020 Health Act was discussed by our contributor Seamus Gunn, who explained that the purpose of the legislation was for the preservation and protection of the public health and to allow the Minister for Health to introduce appropriate measures to curtail the spread of Covid 19. He said that it had already been extended in 2021 and he thought that it beggared belief that it was not extended for a further period in light of the escalating Covid figures in recent weeks. He referenced Shanghai with a population of 26 million at 50% lockdown, with a minute number of symptomatic cases which were non comparable to the figures in the island of Ireland, averaging at 12,000 per day. He said that the WHO spokesperson Dr. Mike Ryan stated that Covid 19 remains an acute global emergency. He said that while it may not be envisaged that the emergency powers would be needed and at least this was the aspiration, it was best to have the legislation in place. Greg Hughes was of the opinion that the public may not buy into any further restrictions. Seamus Gunn said that this could be the difficulty in trying to reintroduce such measures with the change in sentiment.
The Q&A that followed ranged from the Succession Act to the tricky subject of Separation and can be listened to online.