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Personal Injuries Assessment Board

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 December 2021

Tuesday, 7 December 2021

Ceisteanna (133)

Holly Cairns

Ceist:

133. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the steps he is taking to introduce time limits to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board process to ensure the timely completion of cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60189/21]

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Freagraí scríofa

The Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) facilitates the objective assessment of damages at a much lower delivery cost, and in a far shorter timeframe than through litigation.

Section 49 of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act 2003 provides that PIAB must assess claims within nine months of the respondent’s consent to the assessment process. In limited circumstances this may be extended by an additional six months. Further extension beyond this is only allowed with the consent of the claimant.

Notwithstanding the Covid pandemic, in 2020 PIAB processed over 26,000 claims with the average time taken to assess a claim, from the date of consent to the date of award, being nine months.

The Central Bank’s ‘National Claims Information Database – 3rd Private Motor Insurance Report’ published on the 16th of November 2021 highlighted PIAB’s valuable role in significantly reducing the timeframe for delivery of personal injuries awards and in greatly reducing associated costs.

The Report shows that while the average compensation award is broadly similar, the average time taken to resolve injury claims through PIAB is 2.3 years as against 4.2 years through litigation. It is important to note that on average a claim takes between 11-12 months from the date of an accident to the date a claim is made to PIAB.

I am finalising legislative proposals to deliver on the commitments contained in the Programme for Government and the Action Plan for Insurance Reform to enhance and reform PIAB. My objective is to amend the Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act 2003-2019 to facilitate an increase in the number of personal injury claims that may be resolved through the PIAB process without recourse to litigation, and thereby increasing the number of claims that are settled in a timely manner.

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