The Alliance for Insurance Reform has expressed serious concerns regarding the validity of the Judicial Personal Injuries Guidelines due to be adopted on February 20th in light of reforms due to be put in place in England & Wales this May.
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance, which represents charities, voluntary and community groups, sports and cultural organisations and SMEs severely affected by insurance costs said “Personal injury damages for whiplash injuries, which account for a massive proportion of personal injury claims in Ireland, are already 4.4 times higher than in England & Wales. But this May, awards for minor whiplash injuries in England & Wales are scheduled to be dramatically reduced. This will leave the guidelines due to be adopted by the Judicial Council on the 20th February completely out of synch with the jurisdiction that much of our legal precedent comes from, to an extent that will make it difficult to maintain the credibility of the Irish guidelines unless this reduction is factored in.“
Examples of the reductions that are expected in England & Wales include:
- “Whiplash – recovery within 1 year.” Currently £3,710. Expected to drop to £1,250 in May. (Currently €15,700 in Ireland)
- “Whiplash – recovery within 2 years.” Currently £6,730. Expected to drop to £3,910 in May. (Currently €19,400 in Ireland)
“We call on the Judicial Council, in their deliberations between now and 20th February, to take the new England & Wales guidelines into account and have regard to the common good in reducing general damages for fully recovered minor injuries by at least 80% to reflect international norms and norms already established by the Court of Appeal.”
ENDS
NOTES:
“Whiplash injuries, which account for a massive proportion of personal injury claims in Ireland, are already 4.4 times higher than in England & Wales” – from the Personal Injuries Commission final report, 2018 https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/Publications/Second-and-Final-Report-Personal-Injuries-Commission.html
Overall, the Alliance expects general damages for minor, fully recovered soft tissue injuries to be recalibrated in the manner reflected in the ISME Fair Book of Quantum which corresponds with our own independent academic advice.
The Alliance for Insurance Reform brings together 40 civic and business organisations from across Ireland, representing over 56,000 members, 700,000 employees, 599,000 volunteers and 374,000 students in highlighting the negative impact of persistently high premiums and calling for real reforms that will quickly reduce liability and motor insurance premiums to affordable levels and keep them that way. Our members include:
- AOIFE Ireland (Association of Irish Festival Events)
- Car Rental Council of Ireland
- Childminding Ireland
- Coach Tourism & Transport Council of Ireland
- Community Reuse Network Ireland
- Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association
- Cork Business Association
- Early Childhood Ireland
- Family Business Network Ireland
- Federation of Irish Sport
- Galway Chamber
- Galway City Business Association
- Galway County Public Participation Network (PPN)
- Home and Community Care Ireland
- Ireland Active
- Ireland’s Association for Adventure Tourism
- Irish Caravan and Camping Council
- Irish Concrete Federation
- Irish Hotels Federation
- Irish Road Haulage Association
- Irish Showman’s Guild
- Irish Street Arts, Circus and Spectacle Network
- Irish Travel Agents Association
- ISME
- Licensed Vintners Association
- Motorsport Ireland
- Nursing Homes Ireland
- Play Activity and Leisure Ireland
- Quick Service Food Alliance
- Restaurants Association of Ireland
- Retail Excellence
- RGDATA
- Sligo PPN
- Society of the Irish Motor Industry
- South Dublin County PPN
- Sport Ireland
- Union of Students in Ireland
- Vintners Federation of Ireland
- Volunteer Ireland
- The Wheel (Ireland’s national association for community, voluntary and charitable organisations)
For further details contact:
Peter Boland
ALLIANCE FOR INSURANCE REFORM
TEL: 086 826 6036
WEB: insurancereform.ie
FB: /insurancereformireland
TW: @InsuranceRefIre