The key to reducing insurance premiums is reform of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board writes Geraldine Herbert There was a 35% drop in car-related claims in 2020 equating to a saving of around €287 million to the car insurance industry. Two national lockdowns since the beginning of March resulted in fewer people on the roads and a lower probability of accidents occurring. The insurance industry has long maintained that high awards have pushed the average car insurance premium up, adding to the average annual cost for drivers. But surely with such a dramatic decline in claims, Irish policyholders can expect a discount on their premiums? Cost of Claims The cost of claims had been falling long before the pandemic. The second motor insurance report of the National Claims Information Database recently published by the Central Bank states that in the past decade the cost of claims per policy fell by 9% due to fewer claims, while the average motor insurance premium increased by 35%. In addition, the insurance industry generated profits of €142 million last year, with an operating profit margin of 10%. In response to the report, Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty called on the Government to “rein in the price-gouging that goes on in the insurance industry once and for all”. For all the promise of reform since 2016, it seems motor insurance has fallen off the Government’s agenda. Understandably, the Covid pandemic has been the predominant focus of both the present Government and the preceding caretaker Government, but the issues around motor insurance costs are not new. In January 2017 the first report from the Cost of Insurance Working Group was published. Several key areas were identified, including improved data availability and a reduction in the costs incurred in the claims process as a means of bringing down high car premium costs for the consumer. The working group is being disbanded, however, and will be replaced by a Cabinet Sub-Group. And while there was much that was left unachieved by the group, it did signal a commitment that insurance reform was central to Government policy. Is this an indication that planned reform has been shelved? Insurance Costs As progress halts, rising insurance costs are a feature for many motorists and the positive difference to the pricing of insurance premiums that was promised is yet to be seen....