InjuriesBoard.ie Mid Year Report 2008
Board Makes 20,000th Award
Cumulative Awards (Since 2004) To Exceed Half Billion Euro in 2008
€113m awarded to 4,652 personal injury claimants (Jan - Jun '08)
InjuriesBoard.ie, formerly known as the Personal Injuries Assessment Board ('PIAB'), today (Monday, 6th October 2008) released details of its work in the first six months of 2008.
During the period, assessments totaling €113 million were made in respect of 4,652 personal injury claimants.
Commenting on the data released, InjuriesBoard.ie Chief Executive, Patricia Byron, said that the Board has continued to fulfill its mission to deliver personal injuries claims fairly, promptly and transparently. "In recent months we made our 20,000th award and shortly, we expect to have awarded half a billion euro since first opening our doors in 2004".
Personal injury claims in Ireland (excluding medical negligence) must be processed through the Injuries' Board rather than through the Courts. The Board's non-adversarial model benefits:
- Claimants: who receive the same award as in the Courts but two years sooner than the old system;
- Consumers: who benefit from lower insurance premiums (in real terms) today than in the late1990's and
- Respondents / insurance companies: who save through reduced overheads.
By mid-year, InjuriesBoard.ie was well on track to deliver total cost savings for the year of over €100million (target: €40m in direct savings plus €60m by facilitating early settlements).
Patricia Byron continued, "In June this year we launched a new range of web based services - online applications (available 24/7), an online claims estimator, multi-lingual services and a health and well-being webpage to assist recovery following an accident. This service will supplement our existing telephone helpline and will help increase public access to the Injuries Board's services".
"The Injuries Board's objective has always been to reduce the number of cases which went to litigation to around one third of the pre-Board period. This objective is being met. In addition to the awards which the Board makes, a similar number of claims are settled, facilitated by the Board, but without recourse to our full assessment process".
"The increase in average award values made by the Board in the first half of 2008 - from €22,057 in 2007 to €24,320 - is a direct result of a greater proportion of higher value claims being assessed by the Board than previously," Ms Byron added.
The lowest and highest awards in the period were €1,000 and €519,784 respectively. 87% of all personal injury cases assessed by InjuriesBoard.ie secure awards of under €38,000, a figure which is in line with data on Court awards.
Award volumes/values (2005 - 2008e) - InjuriesBoard.ie
| No. of Awards | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 (Jan-June) |
| InjuriesBoard.ie | 951 | 5,573 | 8,208 | 4,652 |
| Value of Awards | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 (Jan- June) |
| InjuriesBoard.ie | €16m | €115.25m | €181.04m | €113m |
Value Breakdown of All Awards Jan-June 2008
| Value Range of Award | % of All Awards |
| <€10,000 | 7 |
| €10,000- €20,000 | 52 |
| €20,000- €30,000 | 21 |
| €30,000- €38,000 | 7 |
| €38,000- €100,000 | 12 |
| >€100,000 | 1 |
Ends Monday, 6th October 2008
For reference:
InjuriesBoard.ie
Gerry Naughton 01 4634565 / 086 803 2891
Murray Consultants Limited
Pat Walsh 01 498 0352 / 087 226 9345
Avril Collins 01 498 0340 / 086 396 4368
Note for Editors: