The Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) has awarded compensation totalling €3.74 million since its inception in 2003, an Oireachtas Committee heard today.
PIAB chief executive Patricia Byron told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise and Small Business it has recieved 15,500 applications from victims of accidents.
She said 5,500 of these have either been settled following initial contact with PIAB or are in the process of having claims papers finalised. The remaining 10,000 claims are being assessed.
Ms Byron said the PIAB was delivering compensation four times cheaper than under litigation, which the PIAB was established to replace.
"This is very significant considering that in 2004, where just under €1 billion was paid out in compensation to personal injury victims, litigation costs of over €400 million were incurred in getting this compensation to the victims," she said.
"These costs contributed significantly to the high levels of insurance premia in this country."
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