Reforms vs Reality

New data highlights that most personal injury claims still proceed to litigation, despite reforms aimed at streamlining the process. Our Insurance & Risk team explores why costs and timelines are rising, what the latest figures from the Injuries Resolution Board reveal, and how businesses can better manage litigation risk. A must-read for those navigating Ireland’s evolving personal injury landscape.

There has been much talk about the culture in Ireland for bringing personal injury claims and the impact this is having on companies’ insurance premiums and management time. The Personal Injury Guidelines were introduced in April 2021 to reduce the awards of damages. The Personal Injuries Assessment Board has rebranded as the Injuries Resolution Board (IRB) and now has a wider mandate. One of the purposes of the IRB is to reduce legal costs by settling claims before court proceedings issue. Two reports published in 2025 paint a picture of some interesting trends.

Central Bank of Ireland report

The Central Bank of Ireland recently published the Employers Liability, Public Liability, and Commercial Property Insurance Report 4. The Central Bank’s report compiles data from 2009 to 2023, focusing on key areas such as premiums, claims, income, and expenditure. It looks at claim settlement trends from 2015 to 2023, the impact of the Personal Injuries Guidelines, and the changes in costs observed between 2019 and 2023. Some of the key takeaways are:

• The majority of claims do not settle until litigation, that is after court proceedings issue. 16% of claims in 2023 were settled directly by insurers, 14% of claims were settled during the IRB process, and 70% of claims were settled through litigation. This is an increase in the number of claims entering litigation. 15% of claims in 2015 were settled during the IRB process, and 52% of claims were settled through litigation.
• The time from when insurers are first notified of a claim to it being concluded has increased. The average claim in 2023 took 4.8 years to conclude, compared to 3 years in 2015.
• Between 2019 and 2023, the average expected costs for employer and public liability claims have risen significantly, with increases of 31% and 37%, respectively. Costs include compensation, legal, and expert fees. The costs of employer liability claims are disproportionately higher than the costs associated with public liability claims. Unsurprisingly, where claims settle before litigation, such as during the IRB process, costs are substantially less.
• When large loss claims are stripped out, the average award assessed by IRB and the average award paid at litigation are almost identical. The average IRB award in 2023 was €23,794, and the average compensation paid during litigation was €23,803.

Award value trends

The IRB Report on Award Values in 2024 was published in April 2025. It provides some more up-to-date analysis of trends in 2024. The IRB report provides some insight into what may be some new emerging trends.

• When compared to the previous year, 2024 saw a 1% increase in claims to the IRB. However, there was a 5% reduction in employer liability claims, and the total number of public liability claims remained unchanged.
• Before the pandemic, the number of applications to the IRB generally exceeded 30,000. There were 20,318 applications for assessment in 2024 with 8,392 of these being assessed for damages.
• The average award made by the IRB in the second half of 2024 was €23,877. This represented a 4% increase on the previous year. The IRB said the increase was due to it assessing damages for more serious and catastrophic injuries.
• During the second half of 2024, the IRB made just under 30 awards valued at over €100,000, with one award for just under €600,000.

Even with the expanding scope of the IRB to assess a wider variety of claims, the majority of matters still seem to be moving on to litigation. The reports seem to reflect a trend of lower injury claim volumes and values, a shift driven in part by the introduction of the Personal Injuries Guidelines and improved safety practices. It will be interesting to see if this trend persists if the proposals submitted by the Judicial Council at the start of 2025 come into effect. The Judicial Council has recommended a 16.7% increase to awards for general damages as set out in the Personal Injuries Guidelines.

Comment

It is clear from both reports that the majority of personal injury claims move on to litigation before they are concluded. Personal injury litigation can be time-consuming and expensive.

It is important that entities have the right legal team to speedily progress these matters to a conclusion. Please contact a member of our Insurance & Risk team if you would like to discuss how to mitigate your litigation risk.

The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other advice.