Alliance For Insurance members update – CSNA
Cabinet has rejected a proposed 17% rise in personal injury awards, avoiding major premium increases for businesses
Print25 November 2025
In July the Cabinet Subgroup on Insurance Reform decided not to recommend to government that personal injury awards should be increased by 17%, the CSNA reports.
The increase would have led to a significant rise in member’s premiums as insurers would have passed the cost on directly and would have done so at a time when the cost of living and the cost of doing business are already very challenging.
This was a grassroots effort by Alliance members who sent an avalanche of messages to the highest levels of government urging them to pull back.
Unity of purpose
The CSNA’s collective size, variety of membership and unity of purpose ensured its message was heard, and more importantly, listened to.
Last month, in an unusual step, the chief justice criticised the government’s decision not to approve the increase in awards.
However, the Minister with responsibility for insurance Robert Troy pushed back on it saying: “While Government respects the independence of the Judicial Council, it is vital that any changes are evidence-based, with a clear understanding of the effect on claims costs, premiums, and the availability of cover.
“It is also important that the judiciary acknowledges the checks and balances which are fundamental for the effective application of the separation of powers.
“Recent comments from the judiciary in terms of operating outside of the Guidelines are unhelpful for both customers and insurance companies.
“Activity must be evidenced-based, and we all must be on the same page in order to deliver positive change.”
It is important that the guidelines are now reviewed using a new methodology.
It believes the government should pass amending legislation that will:
- Extend the review period for the guidelines from three to seven years.
- Require international benchmarking to take place as part of the review process.
- Require consultation with the Injuries Resolution Board.
- Allow the government of the day to amend any recommendations re the quantum of the increase they are asked to consider.
- Instead of the Judicial Council, the process should be overseen by an independent Personal Injuries Committee comprising all relevant stakeholders that reports to the Cabinet Subgroup on Insurance Reform.
The Alliance has conveyed these recommendations to the Minister with responsibility for insurance, Robert Troy, and sought meetings with him and the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan.
In terms of maintaining political focus on insurance reform, the Alliance attended the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance in September, and the Department of Enterprises’ Forum on the Cost of Doing Business, which had a specific session on the cost of insurance.
It also briefed the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise about the ongoing challenges posed by the high cost of insurance and low levels of competition in the market and there was a full Dail debate on insurance recently as well.
It is vital the CSNA keeps the pressure on to make sure recent and proposed reforms deliver for its members and policyholders generally.
In recent weeks the Injuries Resolution Board published its new strategic plan focusing on increasing the volume of cases settled by the Board.
Relevant findings from the Injuries Resolution Board Annual Report 2024 included:
- More than €76 million has been saved in avoided legal costs in 2024 alone.
- Claim volumes remained 33% lower than 2019 levels, reflecting the continued impact of the Personal Injuries Guidelines.
- Acceptance rates grew again to 50% up from 48% in 2023.
- In 2024 there has been no increase in claims in public liability and a 5% decrease in employer liability.
A recent, interim, Central Bank report on liability costs also showed the cost of settling liability claims is down a further 10% in just the first six months of last year.
Taken together with the Injuries Board data, the absence of meaningful premium reductions for policyholders is impossible to justify.
The Central Bank report also finds no benefit for claimants settling their cases outside of the Injuries Resolution Board and in the litigation channel.
Awards in both channels average €26,000, however the overall cost of settling the claim increases significantly when legal costs are accounted for in the latter.
For cases under €100,000 (94% of claims), legal fees rise from €597 at the Injuries Board to €24,786 in the litigation channel.
This is something that needs to be specifically addressed in the government’s forthcoming action plan for insurance reform.
For a number of years the Alliance has been advocating for the Central Bank’s (CBI’s) NCID reports on motor and public liability to be published much more quickly (and within 12 months of the previous year).
This has now been addressed, with the CBI’s 2024 motor and liability reports to be published before year end.
This enables the CSNA to advocate more effectively, using more recent data to highlight insurer profits, increasing premiums etc.
Read more: Alliance for Insurance Reform welcomes new duty of care legislation
© 2025, ShelfLife by CSNA
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